Electronically controlled camera with interval time setting

ABSTRACT

An electronically controlled camera is disclosed which is capable of being operated in an automatic release mode in which a plurality of shootings can be automatically executed. A period of time between the first shooting, of the plurality of shootings, and the start of the automatic release mode, and another period of time between, each shooting, can be set arbitrarily.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an electronically controlled cameracapable of shooting in an automatic release mode in which a plurality ofshootings are automatically executed.

Conventionally, a so-called interval shooting function has been employedin cameras.

In such cameras, when the interval shooting is executed, an intervalperiod of time between each shooting and starting time indicating whenthe interval shooting is started should be set.

Therefore, in the conventional cameras, a clock function must beprovided. Furthermore, a timetable for setting the starting time of theinterval shooting in addition to a timetable for setting the intervaltime between shootings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improvedcamera capable of executing an interval shooting without an extratimetable for setting a starting time of the interval shooting inaddition to a timetable for setting the interval period of time.Further, the timetable for setting the interval period can be used forsetting the starting time of the interval shooting.

For the above object, there is provided an electronically controlledcamera capable of being operated in an automatic release mode in which aplurality of shootings can be automatically executed:

means for arbitrarily defining a first period of time for defining theamount of time which elapses beginning with the start of said automaticrelease mode and ending with said first shooting of said plurality ofshootings; and

means are also provided for arbitrarily setting a second period of timebetween each shooting.

Optionally, a storing means for storing a plurality of time data isprovided in the camera, and the first period is set to a desired one ofthe plurality of time data. Thereby setting of the period of timebecomes easy.

Further, the second period is also set to desired one of the pluralityof time data stored in the storing means, That is, a single storingmeans is referred to when setting either the first period or the secondperiod.

When a strobe is used, it is discriminated whether the strobe isnecessary to be flashed when the shootings are executed, and theshooting is executed after the strobe has been charged even though thefirst period of time has passed since the automatic release mode wasstarted.

Still further, the charging condition of the strobe is monitored duringthe operation of the camera the interval shooting mode, and only when itis determined that the strobe needs to be charged, it is charged.

Furthermore, time measuring means are provided in the camera formeasuring the first period before the first shooting is executed, andfor measuring the second period after the first shooting has beenexecuted is provided.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the top view of an electronically controlled cameraembodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the front view of the camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates the rear view of the camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control circuit of the camera;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatical view of the contact composition of a zoomingswitch thereof;

FIG. 6 is a table showing the relationship between the exposure systems(modes) and the displays thereof;

FIG. 7 is a table showing the relationship between the shooting systems(modes) and the displays thereof;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatical view of segments of an LCD panel;

FIG. 9 is the developed view of a code plate and a table showing therelationship between time code plate and the codes;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatical view showing an example of the zoomingoperation;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a mechanism of a wind pulse switch;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an output of the wind pulseswitch WP;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for a RESET routine;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for an EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM INITIALIZEsubroutine;

FIG. 15 is a flow chart for a ZOOM INITIALIZE subroutine;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for a LOCK routine;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart for a FRAME NUMBER DISPLAY subroutine;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart for a WIND SYSTEM INITIALIZE subroutine;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart for a LOADING subroutine;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart for a WIND PULSE COUNTING subroutine;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for an INTERRUPT subroutine;

FIGS. 22-A, 22-B and FIG. 23 depict a flowchart for a MAIN processing;

FIG. 24 is a flowchart for LENS ACCOMMODATION, AUTOMATIC LENSACCOMMODATION, WIDE MOVEMENT 1, and TELE MOVEMENT subroutines;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart for a LENS POSITION RESTORE subroutine;

FIG. 26 through FIG. 29 are flowcharts for TELE/WIDE MOVEMENT routine,and modifications thereof;

FIG. 30 is a flowchart for a WIDE MOVEMENT 2 subroutine;

FIG. 31 is a flowchart for a ZOOM TO TELE subroutine;

FIGS. 32-A and 32-B show a flowchart for a ZOOM TO WIDE subroutine;

FIGS. 33-A and 33-B are a flowchart for an EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEMSETTING subroutine;

FIG. 34 is a flowchart for a VARIABLE SETTING subroutine;

FIG. 35 is a flowchart for a VARIABLE SELECTION subroutine;

FIG. 36 is a flowchart for a VARIABLE DISPLAY subroutine;

FIGS. 37-A through 37-C and 38-A through 38-C show a flowchart for anAEAF CONTROL routine;

FIG. 39 is a flowchart for an AEFM subroutine;

FIG. 40 is a flowchart for a DISCONTINUANCE subroutine;

FIG. 41 is a flowchart for a WIND routine;

FIGS. 42-A and 42-B show a flowchart for an INTERVAL CONTROL routine;and

FIGS. 43-A through 43-C show a flowchart for a REWIND routine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, a camera body 1 has a stationary barrel 2 and amoving barrel 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the front of the camera body 1contains a distance measurement section 4, a finder window 5, a zoomingtype strobe 6, a photometric element, such as CdS, and a self-timer lamp7. The back of the camera body 1, a back cover 8, a mode button 9, aselect button 10, a drive button 11, a zoom lever 12, a power button 13,a green lamp indicator 14, a red lamp indicator 15, and a back coverrelease lever 16 are provided. When the back cover 8 is moved from anupward stop position to a downward stop position, the back cover 8opens. When the back cover 8 is opened, the back cover release lever 16is in the downward stop position, while when the back cover 8 is closed,the back cover release lever 16 returns to its upward stop position.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upper section of the camera body 1 contains ashutter button 17, a TW button 18 and an LCD panel 19. The TW button 18is used when appointing two opposite positions which are mutuallyextreme ends of the movable range of the zoom lens.

The zoom lever 12 can be moved in the first direction, indicated byarrow r1 in FIG. 1 and a second direction, indicated by arrow r2. Thezoom lever 12 permits the camera lens to be moved between a wideextremity and a tele extremity. The zoom lever 12 is used For settingthe exposure system and the shooting system, which will be describedlater with the function of the motor button 9 and the drive button 11.

The camera contains a control circuit comprising a shutter-relatedprocessing in association with a drive IC. A single integrated circuithas been designed which contains the main CPU, sub CPU, drive IC,autofocus IC and other electronics.

The main CPU performs the following functions in response to inputsignals provided to the camera:

(1) Control the zoom motor and a film motor via a motor drive circuit;

(2) Control illumination and blinking (the illustration thereof isomitted in FIG. 1 through FIG. 3) of the green lamp indicator 14 whichprovides distance measurement-related indication, the red lamp indicator15 which provide strobe-related indication, and the self-timer lamp 7which provide a self-timer-related indication;

(3) Control the indication in the LCD panel 19; and

(4) Control the charging of the strobe circuit. Information is inputtedto the main CPU by utilizing the followings element:

(1) Power switch PSW, which is set to ON while the power button 13 isbeing depressed, and set to OFF when the power button 13 is notdepressed. The power is supplied to the camera when the power switch isset to ON in the prohibited state of power supply, and the power supplyis prohibited when the power switch is set to ON in the power supplypermitted state;

(2) Photomerry switch SWS, which is set to ON when the shutter button 17is depressed halfway;

(3) Release switch SWR, which is set to ON when the shutter button 17 isbeing fully depressed;

(4) Zoom tele switch TELE, which is set to ON when the zoom lever 12 isdisplaced from a center, neutral position towards a tele side r1;

(5) Zoom wide switch WIDE, which is set to ON when the zoom lever 12 isdisplaced from a center, neutral position towards a wide side r2;

(6) Zoom mode switch MVSW, which indicates the movement mode of the zoomlens, that is a step movement or continuous movement. (Step movement andcontinuous movement are described later);

(7) Mode switch EXPSW, which is set to ON while the mode button 9 isdepressed. The mode button 9 is used for setting the exposure system;

(8) Drive switch DRIVSW, which is set to ON while the drive button 11 isbeing depressed. The drive button 11 is used for setting the shootingsystem;

(9) Select switch SLSW, which is set to ON while the select button 10 isbeing depressed. The select button 10 is used for selecting the numberof frames to be shot at the SELF-TIMER shooting, starting time of theinterval shooting and the interval time, etc.;

(10) Zoom code inputs, ZC0, ZC1, and ZC2, which are referred to forcontrolling the lens position, displaying the focal length. etc. Furtherdetails thereof will be described later;

(11) Back cover switch BACK, which is set to OFF when the back coverrelease lever 16 is pressed down and set to ON when the back cover 8 isclosed and the lever returns to its accommodation position; and

(12) A wind pulse switch WP for detecting the film feeding. Furtherdetails thereof will be described later.

The zoom mode switch MVSW, the zoom wide switch WIDE, and the zoom teleswitch TELE are described in detail.

The zoom-related switches MVSW, WIDE, and TELE will now be controlled byone zoom lever, the contact point layout being shown in FIG. 5. Themechanical construction of the zoom-related switches include contactsand a brush attached to the zoom lever 12. They are described in detailbelow individually.

The zoom tele switch TELE is set to ON when the zoom lever is beingdisplaced from the center position toward the first direction indicatedby arrow r1 in FIG. 1, and the zoom wide switch WIDE is set to ON whenthe zoom lever is displaced toward the second direction indicated byarrow r2. And both the zoom wide switch WIDE and the zoom tele switchTELE are set to OFF when the zoom lever 12 is placed at the center(neutral) position.

The zoom mode switch MUSW is set to ON when the zoom lever 12 isdisplaced between the position halfway from its center position towardthe first or second direction r1, r2. The zoom mode switch is set to OFFwhen the zoom lever 12 is further moved in the direction of arrows r1;and r2 from either of its halfway positions.

Step movement and continuous movement mode correspond to ON and OFFstates of the zoom mode switch, respectively. With these possible switchcombinations, five conditions are input to the main CPU. The data isused for the zoom operation or the shooting system and the exposuresystem settings. For instance, referring back to FIG. 4, when performingthe zoom operation, information for the forward/reverse rotation of thezoom motor, and the step/continuous movement of the zoom lens are inputto the main CPU.

The sub CPU controls a range finder, which comprises the infrared LEDand a position sensor PSD through an autofocus IC, and transmits thedistance measurement data from the autofocus IC and the photometry datafrom the CdS to the main CPU.

The drive IC controls the shutter circuit according to commands from thesub CPU, and outputs a trigger signal to the strobe circuit.

The mode button 9 (FIG. 3) is operated for setting the exposure system.As shown in FIG. 6, the following three exposure systems are available:auto (Strobe automatic flashing mode); strobe ON (Strobe forcedlyFlashing mode); and strobe OFF (strobe flashing prohibit mode). FIG. 6shows the indication marks corresponding to each of above-said threeexposure systems. In the case of AUTO, no indication is provided on thedisplay. A counter EXPMODE (hereinafter merely called "EXPMODE") isprovided in correspondence with the exposure systems. EXPMODE values of"0_(H) ", "1_(H) " and; "2_(H) " correspond to AUTO, strobe ON, andstrobe OFF, respectively. By operating the mode button 9, the value ofthe EXPMODE is changed.

The drive button 11 (FIG. 3) is operated for setting the shootingsystems. As shown in FIG. 7, the following five kinds of shooting modesare prepare; FRAME-BY-FRAME shooting mode, SELF-TIMER mode, SELF-TW(tele/wide) mode, INTERVAL mode, and FORCED REWIND mode. FIG. 7 alsoshows the indication corresponding to each of above five shooting modes.No indication is provided for FRAME-BY-FRAME shooting mode. A counterDRIVEMODE (hereinafter merely called "DRIVEMODE") is provided, andDRIVEMODE counted values of "0000_(B) ", "0001_(B) ", "0010_(B) ","0011_(B) ", and 1***_(B) " correspond to the FRAME-BY-FRAME mode, theSELF-TIMER mode, the SELF-TW mode, the INTERVAL mode, and the FORCEDREWIND mode, respectively. In the FORCED REWIND mode, the mark "*" of"1***_(B) " is replaced with either 1 or 0. The SELF-TW mode isdescribed later.

The DRIVEMODE is changed between "0" and "1" when the drive button 11 isdepressed. Indication corresponding to EXPMODE and DRIVEMODE countervalues is displayed in the LCD panel 19, and the shooting is controlledin accordance therewith. Still more, If the drive button 11 is kept onbeing depressed for more than three seconds, the shooting system is setto the forced rewind mode.

In the INTERVAL mode, both the interval starting time and the period ofinterval can be set. In the camera of this embodiment, the intervalstarting time is set by a relative time, that is, the starting time ofthe interval shooting is set by a period of time (minutes, seconds, orhours) from the time when It is set. The interval time is the timebetween a shot and the succeeding shot. In the SELF-TIMER mode, fivekinds of numbers of frames for the SELF-TIMER are provided. SELF-TW is amode in which two shootings are executed, the first shooting is executedwith the zoom lens being located at the desired position, and the secondshooting is executed with the lens at the wide extremity.

Next, the details of marks displayed in the LCD panel 19 are describedwith reference to FIG. 8. The exposure system mark and the shootingsystem mark are displayed when the mode button 9 and drive button 11 aredepressed, respectively. As the meanings of each of the marks has beenalready described, the remaining marks are described below.

In FIG. 8, the mark "INT" is illuminated when the shooting system is setto the interval mode. The mark " " below the "INT" is shown when theinterval time is being set. The mark "S" at the left side of "INT" isdisplayed when the interval starting time is being set. Simultaneously,the mark " " which is located below "S" is also displayed. A batterymark 20 is displayed when the battery of the camera is discharged.Segment displaying area 21 indicates the focal length, the intervalstarting time, and the interval time. The unit mark "mm" is shown whenthe focal length of the zoom lens is displayed. The unit marks "s", "m"and "h", which respectively corresponds to "second", "minute", and"hour", are illuminated when the period of time in the INTERVAL shootingmode is set. In this case, segments are commonly used for "m" and "mm".These "s", "m", and "h", and are selectively illuminated according tothe selected period of time. Segment displaying area 22 is illuminatedfor indicating the frame number, the mark "EX" being the unit mark ofthe frame number.

FIG. 9 shows a diagram of the zoom code inputs. The zoom code plateconstitutes a part of the zoom lens barrel and has such a pattern asshown in FIG. 9. The oblique-lined portions of the zoom code plateconstitute as contacts, where four brushes contact the code plate. Thebrush located at GND is grounded, thereby GND is used as a commonterminal while the other three brushes are used for code detection. Thecodes ZC0, ZC1 and ZC2 are set to "0", when each brush contacts therespective terminals of the code plate, while the codes are set to "1"when the brushes do not contact the respective terminals of the codeplate. In tills description, a three-bit information code detected bythe continuity relation of these terminals is known as a zoom codeZCODE.

A position code POS and a division code DIV are defined according to theabove-mentioned zoom code ZCODE so as to control zooming.

The position code POS is used to distinguish five conditions of thephotographing lens in the position, that is, POS is set to "0" when thelens is located at the accommodation position; POS is set to "1" whenthe lens is in the lens stop prohibited range between the wide extremityand the accommodation position; POS is set to "2" when the lens islocated at the wide extremity; POS is set to 4 when the lens is locatedat the tele extremity; and POS is set to "3" when the lens is located inthe position between the wide extremity and the tele extremity in thezoom area. The division code DIV is used for identifying the lensposition by dividing the zoom area into 21 areas. The DIV in the figureis shown with the hexadecimal number system.

in FIG. 9, the wide extremity (POS equals to "2") is shown with a fixedwidth. However, this portion is a point having no width, namely, POSequaling "2" is obtained only when the lens is at the wide extremity. Aswell, POS equaling "4" is obtained only when the lens is at the teleextremity. The contact ZC2 is utilized for detecting the wide extremityand the tele extremity.

On the other hand, since the zoom area has 21 divisions corresponding tothe focal length of the photographing lens as mentioned above, it isnecessary to identify twenty steps only with two bits. In this example,the configuration of relative codes, in which the zoom codes "5", "4","6", and "7" are repeatedly adopted corresponding to division codevalues DIV of "1_(H) " through "14_(H) ".

When such a configuration as above is employed, it is impossible toidentify one division code corresponding to the focal length of the lensonly by the zoom code ZCODE. The current division code can be identifiedby rewriting the division codes stored in the memory by detecting arelative position with respect to the lens accommodation position basedon the detection of the changes of the zoom code ZCODE.

Moreover, the focal length indication covers the range from 38 mmthrough 90 mm corresponding to each of the divided areas as shown inFIG. 9.

In FIG. 9, the stop position of the lens when the zoom hens is movedunder the step zoom movement condition is indicated by " ". The lensstop positions in the step movement are selected such that in each ofthe positions, the indication of the focal length of the lens is notchanged when the lens movement is controlled so as that a mechanicalbacklash is eliminated.

Namely, in the camera embodying the present invention, the zoom motor isforwardly rotated before being stopped in order to eliminate backlashesof the mechanical system when the reverse rotation of the zoom motor isstopped. A photographer may feel a sense of incongruity If the displayof focal length is changed from a short focal length to a long focallength in this forward rotation. Therefore, the stop positions understep movement condition are selected as above.

The movement of the zoom lens is described with reference to FIG. 10.

If the power is supplied when the lens is located in its accommodationposition, the zoom motor rotates in the forward direction and the lensmoves toward the wide extremity as indicted with an arrow "A".

When the power supply is stopped with the lens being located in the zoomarea, the zoom motor is reversed, and thereby the lens is moved asindicated with an arrow "B" and accommodated in the accommodationposition. In this case, it is not necessary to eliminate the backlash.

When the wide extremity is selected with the TW button 18, for example,the zoom motor is reversed to move the lens until the lens goes beyondthe wide extremity, and then, the lens is further driven by 50 ms(milliseconds) in the same direction although the wide extremity isdetected. And after 50 ms has passed, the zoom motor is forwardlyrotated, thereby the zoom lens is caused to stop at the wide extremityas indicated with arrow "C".

In the case of the continuous movement, when the zoom tele switch TELEis set to ON, the lens is driven until the zoom tele switch TELE is setto OFF as indicated with an arrow "D". In the case of step movement, thezoom motor is forwardly rotated, thereby causing the lens to come to thenext stop position as shown with the arrow "E".

In the case of the continuous movement, when the zoom wide switch WIDEis set to ON, the zoom motor is driven, thereby causing the lens to befurther moved for 70 ms in the same direction from the point of timewhen the zoom wide switch WIDE is set to OFF, as shown with an arrow"F". And then, the zoom motor is forwardly rotated for 50 ms andstopped. Thereby, a backlash of the mechanical system can be eliminated.In the case of the step movement, the zoom motor is reversed after thelens is located at the stop position for 50 ms as shown with an arrow"G", and then the lens is returned to the step zoom stop position byforwardly rotating the zoom motor. Therefore, the backlash can beeliminated.

When the tele extremity is selected with the TW button 18, the zoommotor is rotated forwardly as shown with an arrow "H", and the lens isstopped at the tele extremity.

Referring to FIG. 11, the wind pulse switch WP comprises a signalsprocket, a movable contact piece and a fixed contact piece. On theouter circumference of the signal sprocket, protrusions to be engagedwith perforations of a film are provided, and a triangular-sectionalcontact piece pushing portion is formed about the axis thereof. Themovable contacting piece is elastically contact the contact piecepushing portion of the signal sprocket and is intermittently displacedto contact the fixed contact piece in accompanying with rotation of thesignal sprocket, thereby repeatedly causing the movable contact piece tocontact the fixed contact piece and to be separated therefrom. The windpulse switch WP inputs a signal "0" when the contact pieces contact(ON), and a signal "1" when the contact pieces are separated from eachother (OFF) to the main CPU.

When the above-mentioned switch produces a signal, and outputs ON/OFFsignals corresponding to the conductive/non-conductive states thereof, amisjudgment of the state of the switch may occur due to a so-calledchattering and a mis-contact of the switch. Conventionally, in order toavoid the misjudgment due to the chattering, the judgment is not madefrom a signal obtained at a moment but the judgment is made when thesame state is continued for a predetermined period of time.

In addition to the above-said control, this camera employs the methodsuch that the signal is not detected In the area surrounding changes ofthe signal in which the signal is not theoretically changed, thereby thecamera is less influenced by misjudgment due to the miscontact of theswitch. The wind pulse signal repeats ON/OFF substantially in a constantperiod. However, the interval period between the changes is designed tobe more than 12 ms as shown in FIG. 12. Therefore, as a signal is notchanged theoretically within at least 10 ms since the signal was oncechanged, the signal detection is inhibited in this period. Accordingly,influence from such a misjudgment can be decreased.

[RESET ROUTINE]

In the camera embodying the present invention, the main CPU is in resetcondition when a battery is removed therefrom. When the battery isloaded in a camera, the reset condition of the main CPU is released, anda program starts at a RESET routine shown in FIG. 13.

First, all the memories are initialized (in step RT1), and thereby allflags are set to "0". Next, the signals of all the switches are input(in step RT2). And the EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM INITIALIZE subroutine iscalled, which is shown in FIG. 14, and thereby EXPMODE and DRIVEMODE isinitialized (in step RT3). Through this initialization, each of thememories is set such that the shooting system is set to theFRAME-BY-FRAME shooting mode, the exposure system is set to an AUTOmode, the number of frames for the SELF-TIMER mode is set to one, theinterval starting time is set to 10 seconds, and the interval time isset to 10 seconds. Thereafter, the EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM isdisplayed.

Next, the ZOOM INITIALIZE subroutine shown in FIG. 15 is called (In stepRT4).

In this camera, as the zoom code ZCODE is a relative code as alreadydescribed, the lens position cannot be identified if the battery wasonce removed and the data stored in the memory has been lost. The ZOOMINITIALIZE subroutine is called in order to once retract thephotographing lens to the accommodation position.

In the ZOOM INITIALIZE subroutine (FIG. 15), zoom code input processingis executed (In step ZM1) for judging whether or not the zoom code is"2" (in step ZM2). When the zoom code is "2", the lens has already beenlocated in the accommodation position. However, the zoom motor isforwardly rotated so as to confirm that the main CPU has been reset,waiting for 100 ms (in the steps ZM3 and ZM4). Then, the step ZM5 isperformed. When the zoom code ZCODE is not equal to "2", the step ZM5 isdirectly performed with steps ZM3 and ZM4 being skipped.

In step ZM5, the zoom motor is reversed. In putting the zoom code ZCODEin the steps ZM6, it is judged whether or not the zoom code ZCODE is "2"(in step ZM7).

If it is judged in step ZM7 that the zoom code ZCODE equals "2", stepZM8 is performed, wherein the zoom motor brake is applied. Next, the POSis Initialized (In step ZM9), and the processing is returned to thepoint where it was called.

Through the above processing, the lens is retracted to its accommodationposition (POS=0), the RESET routine is terminated, and a LOCK routine isperformed as follows.

After the ZOOM INITIALIZE subroutine is completed, a 0.5-second hardtimer is started in step RT5 which is referred to when the INTERRUPTsubroutine is executed.

[LOCK PROCESSING]

FIG. 16 shows LOCK routine. This routine is a routine as to keep acamera in a stand-by state under a low power consumption state when theoperation state of the camera is switched from the shooting stand-by(operable) state to the lock state with the operation of the powerbutton 13, or when an AUTOMATIC LENS ACCOMMODATION subroutine (describedlater) is executed.

In this description, it is assumed that the power supply has beenstopped by use of the power button 13, a film has been set in thecamera, the back cover 8 is closed, and a predetermined number of blankshots have been made. Further, it is assumed that the lens is located atthe accommodation position.

First, a 30-minute timer is started (in step L01). This 30-minute timeris used for clearing the data of MVPOS, EXPMODE and DRIVEMODE, which arestored immediately before the lens is automatically moved to theaccommodation position (described later), after 30 minutes elapse afterthe lens is automatically moved to the accommodation position. It can beregarded that a photographer has merely forgotten to turn off the powerin case that any operation has not been made for 30 minutes or moresince the lens was automatically moved to the accommodation position.

Next, all the indications displayed in the LCD panel 19 are turned OFF(in step L02), and it is judged whether the flag ?FLEXZ is set to "0" or"1" (in step L03). The flag ?FLEXZ is used for judging whether or not afilm is loaded in the camera. The flag ?FLEXZ is "0" if a film is notloaded in the camera. In this description, as it is assumed that a filmhas been normally loaded, the flag ?FLEXZ is set to "1".

When the flag ?FLEXZ is set to "1", a FRAME NUMBER DISPLAY subroutine iscalled (in step L04). In the FRAME NUMBER DISPLAY subroutine, it isjudged whether the film counter is set to greater than or equal to "10"as shown in FIG. 17 (in step FP1). When the film counter is set to morethan "10", the frame number is displayed by two digits (in step FP2).While when the counter is set to less than "10", the frame number isdisplayed by one digit at ten's place.

Then, the preceding state of the power switch PSW is stored (in stepL05). When the flag ?FLEXZ is set to "0", step L04 is skipped and stepL05 is directly performed. When the flag ?FLEXZ is set to "1", step L04is performed. Therefore, even though the power supply is stopped, when afilm is loaded in a camera, the frame number is displayed in the LCDpanel 19.

Next, the current states of the power switch PSW and the back coverswitch BACK are input (in step L06). Then, it is judged (in step L07)whether or not the count of the timer reaches thirty minutes. When the30-minute timer is judged to be time-up, the flag ?AUTORET is set to "0"(in step L08). This flag ?AUTORET is referred to when a judgment is madewhether the operating state of the camera is set to that immediatelybefore the automatic lens accommodation has been performed when thepower button is depressed within 30 minutes since the lens wasautomatically located at the accommodation position.

Then, it is judged (in step L09) whether or not a film has been loaded.In this judgment, a flag ?LDEND is used. The flag ?LDEND is set to "1"when the film is loaded and is set to "0" when the film is not loaded.Namely, this flag is set to "0" when the back cover switch BACK is setto OFF. When the flag ?LDEND is "0", step L017 is performed. In thisdescription, as it is assumed that the film has been loaded, the flag?LDEND is set to "1", and step L011 is performed. In step L011, it isjudged whether the back cover switch BACK is set to ON or OFF.

As it is assumed that the back cover switch BACK is set to ON, the stepL012 is performed. In step L012, it is judged whether or not change hasbeen made in the power switch PW. This judgment is made by comparing thepreceding state of the power switch, which is stored in the memory, withthe current state of the main switch while was input in step L06. If thepreceding state and the current state of the power switch PSW are judgedto be the same, a low current consumption mode operation is executed (instep L013), regarding that there is no change in the power switch PSW,and the processing loops back to step L05. In this low currentconsumption mode, the performance of the main CPU is interrupted, and500 ms after, the main CPU restart continuing its performance. Thereby,the main CPU performs intermittently, the switch input in step L06 isexecuted only once every 500 ms, and thus a low current consumption modeis realized.

Next, it is assumed that the back cover 8 is opened during operation inthis low current consumption mode. As the back cover 8 is opened, theback cover switch BACK is set to OFF. Therefore, in step L011, it isjudged that the back cover switch BACK is set to OFF. Then, steps L014through L016 are performed. In steps L014 and L015, theEXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM INITIALIZE and WIND INITIALIZE subroutines arecalled.

In the WIND SYSTEM INITIALIZE subroutine, the flag ?LDEND, flag ?FLEXZand flag ?REWEND are set to "0" (in steps WS1, WS2 and WS3) as shown inFIG. 18. The film counter is cleared (in step WS4), and therefore theframe number is not displayed in the LCD panel 19 (in step WS5).

When the WIND INITIALIZE subroutine is completed, in step L016 the flag? AUTORET is set to "0", and the processing goes to step L012.

If the back cover 8 is kept opened, it is judged in step L019 that theflag ?LDEND is "0", and the processing is shifted to step L017. In stepL017, it is again judged whether the back cover switch BACK is set to ONor OFF. IF the back cover 8 is kept open, the CPU operates in a lowcurrent consumption mode under this condition. In this case, if the backcover 8 is closed, it is judged in step L017 that the back cover switchBACK is set to ON, and the LOADING subroutine, which is shown in FIG.19, is called (in step L018).

Next, it is assumed that the CPU continuously operates in the lowcurrent consumption mode and the power button 13 is depressed under thiscondition. In this case, in step L012, it is judged that a change hasoccurred in the power switch PSW, and the processing is shifted to stepL019. In step L019, it is judged whether the power switch PSW is set toON or OFF. As the power switch is set from OFF to ON by depressing thepower button 13, it is judged in step L019 that the power switch is setto "ON", and the processing goes to step L020. In this step L020, it isjudged whether the flag ?AUTORET is "0" or "1". The flag ?AUTORET is setto "1" in the MAIN processing described later when automatic lensaccommodation has been performed as the operating state of the camerahas been kept unchanged for three minutes.

In this description, it is assumed that the power supply is stopped bythe power button 13 last time, and the flag ?AUTORET is set to "0". Ifthe flag ?AUTORET is set to "0", EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM INITIALIZEsubroutine is called in step L021. Then, in step L022, the WIDE MOVEMENT1 subroutine is called. And the processing goes to the top of the MAINprocessing. The WIDE MOVEMENT 1 subroutine is described later.

It is assumed that the power button is depressed before 30 minuteselapsed when the flag ?AUTORET is set to "1", that is, the automaticlens accommodation has been performed. Then, the preceding state of thepower switch PSW stored in the memory is compared with the current stateof the power switch PSW in step L012, and it is judged whether a changehas occurred in the power switch PW. And the processing is shifted tostep L019, where it is judged whether the power switch PSW is set to ONor OFF. As the power switch PSW has been set to ON by depressing thepower button 13, the processing is shifted to step L020 , and it isjudged whether the flag ?AUTORET is set to "1" or "0". As the flag?AUTORET is kept on being set to "1" until thirty minutes elapse afterthree minutes have passed, it is judged in step L020 that the flag?AUTORET is set to "1", and the processing in steps L023 through L026 isperformed. In step L023, the flag ?AUTORET is set to "0". In step L024,the exposure system display processing is executed. In step L025, theshooting system display processing is executed. In step L026, a LENSPOSITION RESTORE subroutine is called. By the processing in the stepsL023 through L026, the operating state of the camera is set to the stateimmediately before automatic lens accommodation is executed.

[LOADING SUBROUTINE]

In the LOADING subroutine, the exposure system is set to AUTO and theshooting system is set to frame by frame shooting (in step LD1) as shownin FIG. 19. Further, the interval starting time and the interval timeare initialized and are respectively set to 10 seconds (in step LD2).Next, the flag ?LDEND which Indicates the termination of the loading isset to "1" (in step LD3). And the wind pulse counter is set to "17" (instep LD4) in order to feed the film according to the predeterminednumber of the blank shots. Then, the WIND PULSE COUNTING subroutine,which is described later, is called (in step LD5). When the WIND PULSECOUNTING subroutine has been successfully completed, the processing inthe steps LD6 through LD8 of the loading routine is executed. However,in case that the WIND PULSE COUNTING subroutine is failed, the operationin the steps LD6 through LD8 of the loading routine is discontinued.

In this description, it is assumed that the WIND PULSE COUNTINGsubroutine has been successfully completed. Then, the film counter isset to "1" in step LDG. The FRAME NUMBER DISPLAY subroutine is called,and the flag ?FLEXZ which indicates the film being loaded is set to "1"(in the steps LD7 and LD8). Then the processing is returned to theposition where the subroutine was called in the LOCK routine. It isnoted that an error of the WIND PULSE COUNTING subroutine means aloading mistake. In this ease, a film setting procedure, that is,opening the back cover 8, resetting a film, and closing the back cover 8should be performed by a photographer.

[WIND PULSE COUNTING SUBROUTINE]

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the WIND PULSE COUNTING subroutine which iscalled in the LOADING subroutine (described above), and in the WINDroutine (described later). This is a subroutine for detecting the fedamount of the film by detecting the wind pulse output in response to thefeeding of the film.

As this subroutine starts, a flag ?WPCST indicating the start of pulsecount is cleared in step WP1, and the wind motor is forwardly rotated instep WP2.

In a loop from steps WP3 to WP12, it is judged whether the initialposition for starting the wind pulse counting appears in the period of1.5 seconds with judging the conditions of the wind pulse WP and theback cover switch BACK.

When the back cover switch is set to ON, the processing is shifted fromstep WP8 to step WP9 as the flag ?WPCST is set to "0" immediately afterstarting. Then, if the wind pulse WP is set to "1", the processingreturns to step WP4 before time is up after changing the flag ?WPCST (instep WP 10) and waiting for 10 ms in step 11. As loading and winding areterminated after the wind pulse WP is set "1", if the precedingprocessing has been successfully completed, steps WP10 and WP11 areperformed as above. However, the processing may be terminated with thewind pulse WP being set to "0" due to a certain cause. In such a casethe steps WP10 and WP11 are skipped and the switch input (step WP4) isrepeated in relatively shorter period, and the change of the wind pulseWP from "0" to "1" is waited.

After the flag ?WPCST has been set to 1, the processing is shifted fromstep WP8 to step WP13, and it is judged whether or not a change occursin the wind pulse WP.

If there is no change in the wind pulse WP, the processing is shifted tostep WP4, and a loop of the processing is completed. In case that timeis up in the 1.5-sec. timer without any change in the wind pulse WP, thewind motor brake is applied in step WP7, and the processing returns tothe position where the WIND PULSE COUNT subroutine was called aftersetting the return value "Failure". In case the back cover 8 is opened,the wind motor brake is applied after the WIND SYSTEM INITIALIZEsubroutine of FIG. 8 is completed. This Initialize subroutine is forclearing a film-relating flag ?LDEND, ?FLEXZ and ?REWEND, resetting thefilm counter and turning OFF the frame number display.

If the wind pulse WP is changed, it is further detected in step WP14whether it is changed from "0" to "1" or from "1" to "0". If the windpulse WP is changed from "0" to "1", the preset wind pulse counter WPCis decremented in step WP16, and the motor brake is applied in step WP17when wind pulse counter WPC becomes "0". Then, the processing returns tothe position where the subroutine was called after setting the returnvalue "Success".

In case that the wind pulse count WPC is not "0", or the wind pulse ischanged from "1" to "0", the processing is shifted to step WP3 afterwaiting for 10 ms in step WP15 and restarts the 1.5-sec. timer.

The processings of waiting for 10 ms in steps W11 and WP15 areprocessings to lessen the influence resulting from erroneous input dueto chattering, with inhibiting signal input for the period where signalis not theoretically changed, from the changeover point of the windpulse WP.

[INTERRUPT SUBROUTINE]

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the INTERRUPT subroutine. This processingis called in response to an interrupt signal which is generated atintervals of 50 ms. The INTERRUPT subroutine is a display-relatedprocessing and a soft timer incrementing processing which is executedevery 50 ms as long as power is supplied to the camera regardless of theportion of the program currently being executed.

In step IR1 , an INT timer, which is used for counting time for intervalshooting and self-timer shooting, is incremented. In step IR2, othertimers, such as the 30-minute timer in the LOCK routine, areincremented. Next, in step IR3, the blinking operation of a green lampand a red lamp is executed. This operation is the operation to make thegreen lamp blink for short-distance warning and the red lamp for astrobe usage indication at the cycle of 4 Hz, in the AEAF CONTROLroutine described later.

Step IR4 is a processing for judging the time-up of a 0.5-sec. hardtimer. If the hard timer is timed up, the operation following step IR5,inclusive, is executed. Therefore, the operation following step IR5 isexecuted once per ten times calling of the INTERRUPT subroutine.

In the steps IR5 and IR6, the hard timer is restarted; then the othersoft timers are counted up.

In steps IR7 through IR10, display of the remaining time of the intervalperiod is permitted. The remaining time of the interval period isdisplayed if the exposure system is set to AUTO, and the shooting systemis set to the INTERVAL shooting mode.

Instep IR11, the blinking operation of the LCD is executed, therebycausing the interval mark, the self timer mark, etc. to blink at therate of 1 Hz.

it is not necessary that the operation in the steps IR5 through IR11 isfrequently executed. Further, if the processing is executed at eachINTERRUPT subroutine, the executing time of the INTERRUPT subroutinetime may be lengthened to cause a trouble in executing the MAINprocessing. Therefore, the substantial execution of this INTERRUPTroutine occurs at an interval of 0.5 seconds. When the INTERRUPTsubroutine is completed, the control returns to the point where thesubroutine was called.

[MAIN PROCESSING]

FIG. 22 and FIG. 23 show the MAIN processing. This processing isrepeatedly performed when the operation state of the camera is set tothe shooting stand-by (operable) state by the operation of the powerbutton 13.

First, the three-minute timer is started (in step MA1). Thisthree-minute timer pertains to automatic lens accommodation. If theoperating state of the camera has not been changed for three minutes,the lens is retracted to the accommodation position. Next, in step MA2,a SELECT mode counter SELEMODE (hereinafter merely called "SELEMODE") isset to "0". The SELEMODE is used when the shooting mode such as theself-timer shooting, the interval shooting, etc. is set. And then, theswitch data is stored in the memory (in step MA3).

Next, a flag ?SWSEN is set to "0" (in step MA4). The flag ?SWSEN isreferred to when it is judged whether the photometry is permitted ornot. When ?SWSEN is set to "1", the photometry processing is permittedto be executed, while when ?SWSEN is set to "0", the photometryprocessing is prohibited. Then, it is judged whether or not the shootingsystem is set to the FORCED REWIND mode (in step MA5). If the shootingsystem is set to a mode other than the FORCED REWIND mode, theprocessing is shifted to step MA6, where it is judged whether or not theflag ?REWEND is set to "1". The flag ?REWEND is set to "1" when therewind of the film is terminated, while it is set to "0" when the rewindof the film is not completed. It is judged whether or not the precedingstate of the photometric switch stored in the memory is ON in step MA7when the flag ?REWEND is judged to be "0" in step MA6. When thepreceding state of the photometric switch stored in the memory is OFF,the flag ?SWSEN is set to "1" in step MA8. If the preceding state of thephotometric switch stored in the memory is judged to be ON in step MA7,step MA8 is skipped, and step MA9 is performed. It is because a changeof the photometric switch can not be detected if the shutter button iskept depressed, and therefore, the flag ?SWSEN is set to "1" after thephotometric switch is set to OFF.

When it is judged in step MA6 that the flag ?REWEND is "1", steps MA7and MA8 are skipped, and step MA9 is performed. Thus, in case that afilm is rewound, the photomerry processing is prohibited.

If it is judged in step MA5 that the shooting system is set to theforced rewind, the processing skips the steps MA6, MA7, and MA8, andstep MA9 is performed, where the flag ?REWEN is set to "0". The flag?REWEN is referred to when it is judged whether the forced rewind ispermitted or not. In step MA10, It is judged whether or not the shootingsystem is set to the forced rewind. If the shooting system is set to theforced rewind, it is judged in step MA11 whether the preceding state ofa release switch stored in the memory is ON or OFF. When the precedingstate of the release switch is OFF, the flag ?REWEN is set to "1" (instep MA12). Then step M13 is executed. When the preceding state of therelease switch stored in the memory is ON, step MA12 is skipped, andstep MA13 is performed. It is because a change of release switch cannotbe detected If the shutter button is kept depressed, and therefore, theflag ?REWEN is set to "1" after the release switch is set to OFF. Instep MA10, if the shooting system is set to a mode other than the forcedrewind, steps MA11 and MA12 are skipped and step MA13 is performed. Thusthe forced rewind is prohibited when the shooting system is set to themode other than the forced rewind.

In step MA13, the flag ?ZOOMEN is set to "0". The flag ?ZOOMEN isreferred to when it is judged whether zooming is permitted or not. Andthen, it is judged in step MA14 whether the preceding state of the zoomtele switch TELE stored in the memory is OFF or ON. When the precedingstate of the zoom tele switch TELE is OFF, it is judged in step MA15whether the preceding state of the zoom wide switch WIDE stored in thememory is OFF or ON. When the preceding state of the zoom wide switchWIDE is OFF, the flag ?ZOOMEN is set to "1" in step MA16. Then, stepMA17 is executed. In this case, if the zoom tele switch TELE is set toOFF and the zoom wide switch WIDE is set to OFF, the zoom lever 12 islocated at the neutral position thereof. When the preceding state of thezoom tele switch TELE in the memory is ON, the steps MA15 and MA16 areskipped, and step MA17 is performed. When the preceding state of thezoom wide switch WIDE is ON, step MA16 is skipped, and step MA17 isperformed.

Therefore, when the zoom lever 12 is located at its neutral position,the flag ?ZOOMEN is set to "1". When the zoom lever 12 is kept displacedtoward the direction of the zoom tele switch TELE or when the zoom lever12 is kept displaced toward the direction of the zoom wide switch WIDE,the flag ?ZOOMEN remains to be "0". In step MA17, the flag ?TWEN is setto "0". The flag ?TWEN is referred to when it is judged whether the lensmovement to the tele/wide extremity is permitted or not. Next, it isjudged in step MA18 whether the preceding state of the TW switch storedin the memory is ON or OFF. When the preceding state of the TW switch isOFF, the flag ?TWEN is set to "1" in step MA19. And the processing isshifted to step MA20. When the preceding state of the TW switch is ON,step MA19 is skipped, and step MA20 is performed. Since a change can notbe detected if the TW button is kept depressed, a flag ?TWEN is set to"1" after the TW switch is set to OFF.

In step MA20, the current states of the switches are input. In stepMA21, the preceding states of the switches stored in the memory arecompared with the current input of the respective switches. If thepreceding states of the switch input and the current states thereof aredifferent, namely, when a change of switches occurs, the three-minutetimer is started (in step MA22), and the processing is shifted to stepMA23. When there is no change in both the preceding states and thecurrent states, the processing skips step MA22 and is shifted to stepMA23.

In step MA23, it is judged whether or not the three-minute timer istimed up. In ease that the three-minute timer is timed up, the flag?AUTOCAD is set to "1" in step MA24. And the strobe charging isprohibited (in step MA25). The lens is automatically moved to theaccommodation position (in step MA26), and the processing diverges tothe LOCK routine. Namely, If three minutes or more elapse withoutoperation of the power button 13, shutter button 17, zoom lever 12,drive button 11, or TW button, or without opening/closing of the backcover 8, the lens will be automatically retracted to the accommodationposition. The AUTOMATIC LENS ACCOMMODATION subroutine called in step 26is described later.

The case that the three-minute timer is not timed up yet in the MAINprocessing is described below.

In case that the three-minute timer is not timed up, it is judged instep MA27 whether or not the flag ?REWEN is set to "1". As the flag?REWEN is "1" when the shooting system is set to the FORCED REWIND mode,step MA28 follows and it is judged whether the release switch SWR is setto ON or OFF. In case that the release switch is set to ON, the strobecharging is prohibited (in step MA29). Then, the processing diverges tothe REWIND routine (in step MA30). In this embodiment, if the releaseswitch SWR is set from OFF to ON by operating the shutter button 17 withthe drive button 11 being kept depressed for more than three seconds ormore, the forced rewind operation is conducted. Alternatively, If apredetermined period of time elapses with the drive button 11 and theshutter button 17 being depressed simultaneously, the forced rewind maybe conducted. It should be noted that the forced rewind is set in theEXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM SETTING subroutine of FIG. 33.

When it is judged in step MA27 that the flag ?REWEN is set to "0", stepMA31 is performed (FIG. 22-B), where it is judged whether the filmloading has been terminated or not by referring to the flag ?LDEND. Ifthe film is not loaded and LDEND is 0, it is judged whether or not theback cover switch BACK is set to ON or OFF (in step MA32). If the backcover 8 is closed, the strobe charging is prohibited (in step MA33), theLOADING subroutine is called (in step MA34), and the processing returnsto the top of the MAIN processing (in step MA35). When it is judged instep MA32 that the back cover 8 is opened, the processing is shifted tostep MA39. When it is judged in step MA31 that the film has been loadedand LDEND is 1, it is judged in step MA36 whether or not the back coverswitch BACK is set to ON or OFF. When the back cover 8 is opened, theEXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM INITIALIZE and the WIND SYSTEM INITIALIZEsubroutines are called (in steps MA37 and MA38), and the processing isshifts to step MA39. When it is judged in step MA36 that the back cover8 is closed, steps MA37 and MA38 are skipped, and the processing shiftedto step MA39.

Therefore, in the case that the MAIN processing is executed with thefilm loading having been completed and with the back cover 8 beingclosed, steps MA31, MA36 and MA39 are sequentially executed. In the casethat the MAIN processing is executed with the back cover 8, which wasclosed, having been opened, steps MA31, MA36, MA37, MA38 and MA39 aresequentially executed. And in case that the MAIN processing is executedwith the back cover being kept opened, steps MA31, MA32 and MA39 aresequentially executed. In the case that the MAIN processing is executedwith the back cover 8, which was opened, having been closed, steps MA31,MA32, MA33, MA34 and MA35 are sequentially executed.

In step MA39, the preceding state of the power switch PSW stored in thememory is compared with the current state of the power switch. In case achange of the power switch has occurred, the processing is shifted tostep MA40. It is judged in step MA40 whether the current state of thepower switch is ON or OFF. If the power switch is set to OFF, that is,the power switch is set from ON to OFF, the strobe charging isprohibited (in step MA41), the LENS ACCOMMODATION subroutine is called(in step MA42), and the processing diverges to the LOCK routine of FIG.16 (in step MA43). The LENS ACCOMMODATION subroutine is described laterwith reference to FIG. 24. In case the power supply is stopped by manualoperation, steps MA40, MA41, MA42, and MA43 are sequentially executed.In case that the power button 13 is kept depressed while the MAINprocessing is being executed, and when the power button 13 is releasedfrom being depressed, the processing is shifted to step MA44 (FIG. 23)through the steps M39 and MA40.

In step MA44, the EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM SETTING subroutine, which isdescribed later, is called.

The processing in step MA45 is executed after this EXPOSURE/SHOOTINGSYSTEM SETTING subroutine is completed. It is judged in step MA45whether or not the flag ?SELECT is set to "1" or "0". This ?SELECT isset in the EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM SETTING subroutine. If the timesetting of the shooting system is conducted, the flag ?SELECT is set to"1". If the flag ?SELECT is set to "0", the processing is shifted tostep MA46, and it is judged whether the flag ?TWEN is set to "1" or "0".When the flag ?TWEN is set to "1", it is judged (in step MA47) whetheror not the TW switch is set to ON or OFF. When the TW switch is ON, thestrobe charging is prohibited (in step MA48), the TELE/WIDE MOVEMENTsubroutine (in step MA49) is called, and the processing returns to thetop of the MAIN processing (in step MA50). It should be noted that inthe TELE/WIDE MOVEMENT subroutine, the zoom lens is forcedly moved tothe tele extremity or the wide extremity when the TW button 18 isoperated. The details thereof is described later when the lens movementis described.

When in step MA46 the flag ?TWEN is "0", step MA51 is executed, and itis judged whether the flag ?ZOOMEN is set to "1" or "0". When the flag?ZOOMEN is set to "0", it is judged (in step MA52) whether or not theflag ?SWSEN is "0". If the flag ?SWSEN is "0", the strobe chargingcontrol is conducted in step MA53, and the processing returns to stepMA3.

When it is judged in step MA51 that the flag ZOOMEN is set to "1", it isjudged (in step MA54) whether or not the zoom tele switch TELE is set toON or OFF. When the zoom tele switch TELE is set to OFF, it is judged(in step MA55) whether or not the zoom wide switch WIDE is set to ON orOFF. If the zoom wide switch WIDE is set to OFF, the processing isshifted to step MA52. Therefore, when the zoom lever 12 at the neutralposition thereof under the zoom permitted condition, the MAIN processingis executed via steps MA51, MA54, MA55 and MA52.

When the zoom wide switch WIDE is judged to be ON In step MA55, it isjudged (in step MA56) whether or not the zoom lens is located at thewide extremity. When the zoom lens is not located at the wide extremity,the strobe charging is prohibited (in step MA57), the ZOOM TO WIDEsubroutine is executed (in step MA58), and the processing returns to thetop of the MAIN processing (in step MA59). As it is not necessary tomove the zoom lens to the wide extremity when the zoom lens isdetermined to be located at the wide extremity in step MA56, steps MA57and MA58 are skipped and step MA53 is executed.

Next, when it is judged in step MA54 that the zoom tele switch TELE isset to ON, it is judged (in step MA60) whether or not the zoom lens islocated at the tele extremity. When the zoom lens is not located at thetele extremity, the strobe charging is prohibited (in step MA61), theZOOM TO TELE subroutine is executed (in step MA62), and the processingreturns to the top of the MAIN processing (in step MA63). As it is notnecessary to move the zoom lens to the tele extremity when the zoom lensis determined to be located at the tele extremity in step MA60, theprocessing in the steps MA61, MA62, and MA63 is skipped, and step MA53is executed.

If the zoom lever 12 is displaced in the direction of arrow r1 in FIG.1, and if the flag ?ZOOMEN is set to "1", the zoom lens moves toward thetele side until it reaches the tele extremity. While, if the zoom lever12 is displaced in the direction of arrow r2 in FIG. 1, the zoom lensmoves toward the wide side until it reaches the wide extremity. The ZOOMTO WIDE subroutine and the ZOOM TO TELE subroutine are described later.

When it is judged in step MA52 that the flag ?SWSEN is set to "1", it isjudged (in step MA64) whether the photometric switch is ON or OFF. Thenif it is OFF the strobe charging is prohibited (in step MA65), and theprocessing diverges to the AEAF CONTROL routine (in step MA66).

[LENS ACCOMMODATION SUBROUTINE, ETC.]

FIG. 24 shows the processings of LENS ACCOMMODATION, AUTOMATIC LENSACCOMMODATION, WIDE MOVEMENT 1 of the lens and TELE MOVEMENTsubroutines. The places where these subroutines start are different, butthe latter half of the processings is common. Therefore, the same figureis used for illustration.

The LENS ACCOMMODATION subroutine is called when the power is manuallystopped, or when the rewind is commenced. For instance, the subroutineis called in step MA42 of the MAIN processing of FIGS. 22 and 23.

First, "0" is set in the memory MVPOS (in step LM1). The memory MVPOS isthe memory for storing the position where the lens is to be moved, whichis commonly used for the processing of AUTOMATIC LENS ACCOMMODATION,WIDE MOVEMENT 1, and TELE MOVEMENT subroutines.

Next, The data stored in the memory MVPOS is compared with the currentPOS (in step LM2). The direction in which the lens is to be moved isdifferent, depending upon each of the processings of automatic lenslock, WIDE MOVEMENT 1, and TELE MOVEMENT. If the power supply ismanually stopped (in step MA42 of the MAIN processing, FIG. 22-B), andthe current POS is greater than MVPOS (=0), the reverse rotation of thezoom motor is executed (in step LM3), and then the lens position isdetected (in step LM4). In the lens position detection processing, achange of the zoom code ZCODE is continuously monitored as the motor isrotated with use of POS and DIV.

Next, the focal length display is performed (in step LMS). Therefore,while the lens is being moved, the displayed focal length can bechanged. Next, the current POS is compared with the data stored in thememory MVPOS (in step LM6). The processing in steps LM4 through LM6 isrepeated until the current POS equals the data stored in the memoryMVPOS. When the current POS equals the data stored in the memory MVPOS,the zoom motor brake is applied (in step LM7), then the processing isreturned to the point where the subroutine was called in the MAINprocessing. Thus, the lens is retracted in the accommodation position.

The AUTOMATIC LENS ACCOMMODATION subroutine is called in step MA26 ofthe MAIN processing as aforementioned. In this subroutine, the currentDIV is stored in the memory MEMDIV (in step LM8). In this case, the datastored in the memory MEMDIV is used for determining the restoringposition in automatically restoring of the lens. In step LM9, "0" isstored in the memory MVPOS. And the processing similar to the LENSACCOMMODATION subroutine is executed (in the steps LM2, and steps LM3through LM7). This subroutine substantially has no difference from theLENS ACCOMMODATION subroutine, excepting that the lens is automaticallyrestored in response to the succeeding power supply operation.

The WIDE MOVEMENT 1 is a subroutine for moving the accommodated lens tothe wide extremity, which is called in step L022 of the LOCK subroutineas described above. In the WIDE MOVEMENT 1, "2" is stored in the memoryMVPOS (in step LM10), and the data in the MVPOS is compared with thecurrent POS in step LM2. As the current POS is "0" with the power supplybeing stopped, the processing is shifted to step LM11, where the forwardrotation of the zoom motor is executed. Then, the lens position isdetected and the focal length is displayed (in steps LM4 and LM5). StepsLM4 through LM6 are repeated until the data stored in the memory MVPOSequals the current POS. When the data stored in the memory MVPOS isdetermined to be equal to the current POS in step LM6, the processing isshifted to step LM7, and returns to the point where the subroutine wascalled in the LOCK subroutine. Thus, the lens is shifted to the wideextremity (POS=2).

Next, "4" is stored in the memory MVPOS in the TELE MOVEMENT subroutine(in step LM12), and the data stored in the memory MVPOS is compared withthe current POS. As the data of the MVPOS is always greater than thecurrent POS, the zoom motor is forwardly rotated (in step LM11), thenthe lens position detection and the focal length display are performed(in steps LM4 and LM5. Next, the data stored in the memory MVPOS iscompared with the POS. Steps LM4 through LM6 are repeated until the datastored in the memory MVPOS equals the POS. As they are determined to beequal to each other, the zoom motor brake (in step LM7) is applied, andthen, the processing returns to the point where the subroutine wascalled in the MAIN processing (in step MA50).

Thus, the lens is forcedly moved toward the tele extremity in the TELEMOVEMENT processing (in step MA50).

[AUTOMATIC LENS POSITION RESTORE SUBROUTINE]

In FIG. 25, an AUTOMATIC LENS POSITION RESTORE subroutine which iscalled in step L026 of the LOCK routine is shown.

In this subroutine, the forward rotation of the zoom motor is firstlyexecuted in step LR1. Next, the processing is shifted to step LR2, wherethe lens position detecting processing is performed. Then the FOCALLENGTH DISPLAY subroutine is called in step LR3. In step LR4, thecurrent DIV is compared with the data of the preceding DIV stored in thememory MEMDIV. The processing in the steps LR2, LR3 and LR4 is repeateduntil the current DIV equals the data stored in the memory MEMDIV. If itis judged in LR4 that the current DIV equals the data stored in thememory MEMDIV, the processing is shifted to step LR5, where the zoommotor brake is applied, and the processing is returned to the pointwhere the subroutine was called in the LOCK routine. Thus the lens canbe moved to position corresponding to the preceding DIV which is theposition where the lens was located immediately before the automaticlens accommodation has been performed.

[TELE/WIDE MOVEMENT subroutine]

The TELE/WIDE MOVEMENT subroutine shown in FIG. 26 is called in stepMA49 as described above. This TELE/WIDE MOVEMENT subroutine is used fordetermining whether the lens is moved to the tele side or the wide sidewhen TW button 18 is operated as shown in FIG. 26. First, it is judgedin step TW1 whether or not the DIV is greater than or equal to "B_(H) ".When the DIV is greater than or equal to "B_(H) ", the WIDE MOVEMENT 2subroutine is called in step TW2. When the DIV is determined to besmaller than "B_(H) " in step TW1, the TELE MOVEMENT subroutine iscalled (in step TW3).

In this subroutine, the lens is moved to the further one of the wideextremity and the tele extremity with respect to the current lensposition. That is, If the lens is located relatively near the wideextremity, the lens will be moved to the tele extremity, while If thelens is located relatively near the tele extremity, the lens will bemoved to the wide extremity.

The followings are the modifications of the TELE/WIDE MOVEMENTsubroutine.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating a first modification of theTELE/WIDE MOVEMENT subroutine. In this modification, it is judged instep TWS1 whether the POS is "2". When POS equals "2", the processing isshifted to the TELE MOVEMENT (in step TWS2). When the POS is judged notto be equal to "2" in step TWS1, it is judged in step TWS3 whether ornot the POS equals "4". When it is judged that the POS equals "4" instep TWS3, the processing is shifted to the WIDE MOVEMENT 2 (in stepTWS4). When the POS is judged not to be equal to "4" in step TWS3, it isjudged (in step TWS5) whether or not the DIV is greater than or equal to"B_(H) ". When the DIV is greater than or equal to "B_(H) " in stepTWS5, the TELE MOVEMENT subroutine is called (in step TWS6). When it isjudged that the DIV is smaller than "B_(H) " in step TWS5, the WIDEMOVEMENT 2 is called (in step TWS7).

According to the first modification of FIG. 27, when the lens is at thetele extremity, the lens is moved to the wide extremity, while if thelens is at the wide extremity, it is moved to the tele extremity. Whenthe lens is located at a position between the wide extremity and thetele extremity, the lens is moved to the nearer one of the teleextremity or the wide extremity with respect to the current lensposition. Namely, if the lens is located near the wide extremity, thelens is moved to the wide extremity. If the lens is located near thetele extremity, it is moved to the tele extremity.

FIG. 28 shows a flowchart of a second modification of the TELE/WIDEMOVEMENT subroutine. In the second modification, it is judged (in stepTWT1) whether or not POS is "2". If the POS is judged to be equal to "2"In step TWT1, the TELE MOVEMENT subroutine (step TWT2) is called. If itis judged that the POS is not equal to "2", the WIDE MOVEMENT 2 (stepTWT3) is called. According to this second modification, when the lens islocated at the wide extremity, it is moved to the tele extremity. If thelens is not located at the wide extremity, it will be always moved tothe wide extremity.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating a third modification of theTELE/WIDE MOVEMENT subroutine. In this processing, it is judged in stepTWV1 whether POS equals "4". When POS is judged to be equal to "4" instep TWV1, the WIDE MOVEMENT 2 is called (in step TWV2). If it is judgedthat the POS is not equal to "4". The TELE MOVEMENT subroutine is called(in step TWV3).

According to the third modification, If the lens is located at the teleextremity, it is moved to the wide extremity, while If the lens is notat the tele extremity, it will be moved to the tele extremity.

[WIDE MOVEMENT 2 SUBROUTINE]

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating the WIDE MOVEMENT 2 subroutine,which is called in the TELE/WIDE MOVEMENT subroutine.

First, the zoom motor is reversely rotated (in step ZW1). Next, the lensposition detecting processing and the focal length display processingare executed (in steps ZW2 and ZW3). Then, it is judged (in step ZW4)whether or not POS equals "1". Then, the steps ZW2 through ZW4 arerepeatedly executed until the POS equals "1". When it is judged in stepZW4 that the POS equals "1", the zoom motor is forwardly rotated (instep ZW6) after waiting for 50 ms (in step ZW5. Then, the lens positiondetecting processing is performed (in step ZW7). In step ZW8, it isjudged whether POS equals "2". The steps LM7 and LM8 are repeated untilthe POS equals "2". When the POS is judged to be equal to "2", the zoommotor brake is applied, and the processing is returned to the pointwhere the subroutine was called.

After this WIDE MOVEMENT 2 subroutine is completed, the lens will belocated at the wide extremity.

In this subroutine, the lens is driven to be moved to the positioncorresponding to the POS equals "1" by reversely rotating the zoommotor, and then the lens is moved back to the wide extremity (POS=2) byforwardly rotating the zoom motor. Backlash may occur in the mechanicalsystem when the zoom motor is reversely rotated, but on the other hand,when the zoom motor is forwardly rotated no backlash occurs in themechanical system. Accordingly, as the rotation of the zoom motor iscontrolled as above, the backlash can be avoided.

[ZOOM TO TELE SUBROUTINE]

The zoom motor is forwardly rotated (in step ZN1) as shown in FIG. 31,when the zoom lever 12 is displaced In the direction indicated by arrowr1 (the tele extremity side). The next stop position for step-movementof the lens is stored in a memory STDIV (in step ZN2). The memory STDIVis a memory for storing the next stop position when the step-zoom isemployed. If the lens is moved toward tele extremity, the DIV at thetele extremity side is stored in the memory STDIV, with respect to thecurrent DIV. Next, the flag ?STEP is set to "1" (in step ZN3). The flag?STEP is used for judging whether the selected lens movement is the stepzoom movement or the continuous zoom movement when the ZOOM TO TELEsubroutine or the ZOOM TO WIDE subroutine is executed. In the cameraembodying the present invention, the zoom lever 12 is composed so thatstep zoom movement can be selected when the zoom lever is slightlydisplaced from Its neutral position, and continuous zoom movement can beselected when the zoom lever 12 is further displaced from its halfwaydisplaced position. Therefore, the flag ?STEP is set to "1" as a defaultvalue regarding that the step zoom movement has been selected.

Next, the lens position detecting processing and the focal lengthdisplay processing are executed (in steps ZN4 and ZN5), and it is judged(in step ZN6) whether the zoom tele switch TELE is ON or OFF. When thezoom tele switch TELE is OFF, the zoom motor brake is applied (in stepZN7). Then, the processing is returned to the MAIN processing (in stepMA63). Namely, even though a photographer releases the zoom lever 12after having lightly operated the zoom lever 12, the lens movementimmediately stops. When the zoom tele switch TELE is ON, it is judged(in step ZN8) whether or not the POS is equals "4". When it is judged instep ZN8 that the POS equals "4", the zoom motor brake is applied (instep ZN7), and the processing is returned to the MAIN processing (instep MZ63). It is because, when the POS equals "4", the lens has beenmoved to the tele extremity.

When it is judged in step ZN8 that the POS is not "4", it is judged (instep ZN9) whether the zoom switch is ON or OFF. When the zoom modeswitch MVSW is OFF, the flag ?STEP is set to "0". Then the processing isreturned to the lens position detecting processing (in step ZN4). Aslong as the zoom mode switch MVSW is OFF, steps ZN4 through ZN6 andsteps ZN8 through ZN10 are repeated, thereby causing the zoom lens tocontinuously come out. In response to the movement of the lens, thefocal length being displayed is changed.

If the zoom mode switch MVSW is set to ON, the processing is shifted tostep ZN11, where it is judged whether or not the flag ?STEP equals "1".As the flag ?STEP has been set to "0" when the lens is continuouslycoming out, step ZN12 is skipped and the zoom motor brake is applied (instep ZN13). Then, the processing is returned to the MAIN processing (instep MA63). Thus, If continuous zoom movement of the lens is selected,the lens movement can be stopped only by returning the zoom lever 12 tothe position instructing the step zoom movement or when the teleextremity is reached.

When in performing the ZOOM TO TELE subroutine, the zoom tele switchTELE and the zoom mode switch MVSW are kept in an ON state, theprocessing is shifted to step ZN11 through the judgment processing insteps ZN6, ZN8 and ZN9. The processing in steps ZN6, ZN8 and ZN9corresponds to the case that the continuous zoom movement is notselected, and the flag ?STEP equals "1". Therefore, the processing isshifted to step ZN12 for judging whether the current DIV is equal to thedata stored in the memory STDIV. When the data of the current DIV isdifferent from the data in the memory STDIV, steps ZN4 through ZN6,steps ZN8, ZN9, ZN11 and ZN12 is repeatedly executed until the currentDIV equals the data stored in the memory STDIV. If it is judged that thecurrent DIV becomes equal to the data in the memory STDIV in step ZN12,the processing is shifted to step ZN13, the zoom motor brake is applied,and the processing is returned to the MAIN processing (in step MA63).

In the MAIN processing, when the flag ?ZOOMEN is once set to "0" (instep MA13), and the zoom tele switch TELE is kept on being ON, stepsMA15 and MA16 are skipped, and the processing following step MA17,inclusive, is executed. Therefore, when the processing reaches stepMA51, steps MA54 and MA55 are skipped. Accordingly, If the step zoommovement of the lens is selected, the next step zoom movement cannot beperformed unless the zoom lever 12 is returned to its neutral positionand the zoom tele switch TELE is set to OFF.

[ZOOM TO WIDE SUBROUTINE]

If the zoom lever is displace from the neutral position toward the wideside (in the direction of arrow r2 in FIG. 1), the zoom motor isreversely rotated (in step ZR1) as shown in FIGS. 32A-32B. And as thewide zoom is selected, the DIV of the next step stop position in thewide side with respect to the current DIV is stored in the memory STDIV(in step ZR2). Next, the flag ?STEP is set to "1" (in step ZR3). Thelens position detecting processing and the focal length displayprocessing are executed (in steps ZR4 and ZR5), and it is judged (instep ZR6) whether the zoom wide switch WIDE is set to OFF or ON. Whenthe zoom wide switch WIDE is set to OFF, the zoom motor is forwardlyrotated after waiting for 70 ms (in steps ZR7 and ZR8) In order toeliminate the mechanical backlash of the mechanical system. Next, thelens position detecting processing is executed (in step ZR10) afterwaiting for 50 ms (in step ZR9). Then, the processing is shifted to stepZR11, where it is judged whether or not the POS is "1". In this case,the waiting processing (in steps ZR7 and ZR9) is performed in order toprevent the display of the focal length from being increased, in spiteof wide zoom being selected, due to the backlash eliminating processing.

When it is judged that the POS is not "1" in step ZR11, the focal lengthis displayed (in step ZR12'), the zoom motor brake is applied (in stepZR13'), and the processing is returned to the MAIN processing (in stepMA59). Thus, when the zoom lever 12 is released after having beenoperated, the backlash eliminating processing is executed. Thereafter,if the POS is not equal to "1", the lens movement is stopped. If it isjudged in step ZR11 that the POS equals "1" after the backlasheliminating processing, the lens position detecting processing isexecuted (in step ZR12). Next, it is judged (in step ZR13) whether ornot the POS is equal to "2". Steps ZR12 and ZR13 are repeated until thePOS equals "2". The zoom motor brake is applied (in step ZR14) when itis judged that the current POS is "2". Then, the processing is returnedto the MAIN processing (in step MA59). As above, the lens is positionedat the wide extremity. Even if the zoom lever 12 is released (placed atits neutral position) after having been lightly operated, the lensmovement can be stopped immediately.

When it is judged that the zoom wide switch WIDE is ON in step ZR6, itis further judged (in step ZR15) whether or not the POS is "1". Whenthat the POS equals "1", the zoom motor forward rotation processing isexecuted after waiting for 50 ms (in steps ZR16 and ZR17). And the lensposition detecting processing is executed (in step ZR12). Next, it isjudged (in step ZR13) whether or not the POS equals "2". If the POS isnot equal to "2", steps ZR12 and ZR13 are repeatedly executed. If thePOS equals to "2", the zoom motor brake is applied (in step ZR14) whenthe current POS equals "2", and the processing is returned to the MAINprocessing (in step MA59). In the processing in steps ZR16, ZR17, ZR12through ZR14, elimination of the backlash at the wide extremity isperformed.

When it is judged in step ZR15 that the POS is not equal to "1", it isjudged (in step ZR18) whether the zoom mode switch MWSW is ON or OFF.When the zoom mode switch MVSW is OFF, the flag ?STEP is set to "0" (instep ZR19). And then, the processing is returned to the lens positiondetecting processing (in step ZR4), and the processing in steps ZR4through ZR6, ZR15, ZR18 and ZR19 is repeated as long as the zoom modeswitch MVSW is kept in an OFF state, thereby causing the zoom lens to becontinuously moved toward the camera body. The focal length display ischanged in response to the movement of the lens. Namely, the displayedfocal length of the lens is decreased in response to the movement of thelens toward the wide side.

If the zoom mode switch MVSW is set to ON, the processing is shifted tostep ZR20, where it is judged (in step ZR20) whether or not the flag?STEP equals "1". As the flag ?STEP is set to "0" when the lens iscontinuously moved towards the camera body, the processing similar tothe processing when the zoom wide switch WIDE is set to OFF, that is,the processing in steps ZR7 through ZR14 or steps ZR7 through ZR13', isperformed.

When the zoom wide switch WIDE is ON and the zoom mode switch MVSW iskept remained in ON state, the processing reaches step ZR20 via stepsZR6, ZR15 and ZR18 unless the POS equals "1". This processing in stepsZR6, ZR15 and ZR18 corresponds to the case that the continuous zoommovement has not been selected. In this case, the flag ?STEP is kept onbeing set to "1", and the processing is shifted to step ZR24, where itis judged whether or not the current DIV is equal to the data stored inthe memory STDIV. When the current DIV is different from the data storedin the memory STDIV, the processing is shifted to step ZR4, and theprocessing in steps ZR15, ZR4 through ZR6, steps ZR18, ZR20 and ZR24 isrepeatedly executed. Then, the processing is shifted to step ZR25 whenthe current DIV is judged to be equal to the data stored in the memorySTDIV in step ZR24.

In step ZR25, a stand-by processing for 50 ms waiting is performed.Next, the zoom motor forward rotation (in step ZR26) and the lensposition detection processing (in step ZR27) are executed. In step ZR28,it is judged whether or not the current DIV equals the data stored inthe memory STDIV. The processing in steps ZR27 and ZR28 is repeateduntil the current DIV equals the data stored in the memory STDIV. Whenthe DIV equals the data stored in the memory STDIV, the zoom motor brakeis applied (in step ZR29), and the processing is returned to MAINprocessing (in the MA59).

If the flag ?ZOOMEN is once set to "0" (in step MA13) in the MAINprocessing, and the zoom wide switch WIDE is remained in ON state, theprocessing in step MA16 is skipped, and the processing after step MA17is executed. Therefore, when the processing reaches step MA51, stepsMA54 and MA55 are skipped. Accordingly, when seep movement of the lensis selected, the next step movement can not be performed unless the zoomlever 12 is released and the zoom wide switch WIDE is once set to OFF.

[EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM SETTING SUBROUTINE]

FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating an EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM SETTINGsubroutine, which is called in step MA44 of the MAIN processing. This isa routine for setting the above mentioned exposure system and shootingsystem according to inputs of the mode switch EXPSW, the drive switchDRIVSW, and the select switch SLSW.

As this subroutine starts, the state of the flag ?SELECT is judged instep ET1. The flag ?SELECT is set to "1" when only the select switchSLSW is set to ON between the switches used for setting in the precedingsetting, and is cleared if the select switch SLSW is set to OFF after avariable setting routine which is described later.

If the flag ?SELECT is equal to "0", it is judged that the processing isnot under the VARIABLE SETTING subroutine, and an exposure/shootingsystem display are executed in steps ET2 and ET3. The condition of thezoom tele switch TELE and the zoom wide switch WIDE is checked in stepsET4 and ET5. If either of the zoom tele switch TELE or the zoom wideswitch WIDE is set to ON, it is judged that the zoom processing isperformed, and, in step ET6, a three-second timer, which is used formaking a judgment for executing the forced rewind, is started. In stepET7, the flag ?MDSWOF is set to "0", which means that the drive switchDRIVSW, the select switch SLSW, the photomettle switch SWS, the zoomtele switch TELE and the zoom wide switch WIDE are set to OFF. Then theprocessing returns to the point where the subroutine was called in theMAIN processing. The flag ?MDSWOF is set to "1" in step ET16 when allthe above switches are set to OFF, and is used for detecting the pointwhere the mode switch EXPSW and the drive switch DRIVSW are set from OFFto ON.

If both the zoom tele switch TELE and the zoom wide switch WIDE are setto OFF, the flag ?MDZMOF which indicates that both the zoom tele switchTELE and the zoom wide switch WIDE are in OFF state is set to "1", instep ET8. Then the condition of the photometric switch SWS is judged instep ET9. The flag ?MDZMOF is used for detecting the point where thezoom tele switch TELE or the zoom wide switch WIDE is set from OFF toON, in a VARIABLE SETTING subroutine which is described later. If thephotometric switch SWS is set to ON, the processing is returned to thepoint where the subroutine was called in the MAIN processing throughsteps ET6 and ET7 without setting the exposure/shooting systems used inthe AEAF processing.

If either of the above three switches (i.e., tele switch, wide switch,and photometry switch) is in an OFF state, the processing is shifted tosteps ET10 and ET11, and the condition of the mode switch EXPSW and thedrive switch DRIVSW is judged. If the mode switch EXPSW and the driveswitch DRIVSW are in OFF state, the forced rewind mode is canceled instep ET12 if it is effected. Then, after the shooting system displayprocessing is executed in step ET13, the three-second timer is restartedin step ET14.

In step ET15 the state of the select switch is detected. Tile flag?SELECT is set to "1" in step ET17 and the flag ?MDSWOF is set to "0" instep ET7, if the select switch SLSW is in an ON state. If the selectswitch SLSW is set to OFF, the flag ?MDSWOF is set to "1", and then theprocessing is returned to the point where the subroutine was called inthe MAIN processing. As the flag ?SELECT is set to "1" in step ET17, itis judged in step MA45 of the MAIN processing that the VARIABLE SETTINGsubroutine is being performed, and the zoom-related processing isskipped in the MAIN processing. It is because the zoom tele switch TELEand the zoom wide switch WIDE are commonly used in ZOOM TO TELE/ZOOM TOWIDE subroutines, on the one hand, and VARIABLE SETTING subroutines, onthe other, that it is necessary to clarify in which subroutine thesetting is executed.

If the zoom tele switch TELE, the zoom wide switch WIDE and thephotometric switch SWS are set to OFF, and the mode switch EXPSW is setto ON, the processing goes from step ET10 to ET18, and the three-secondtimer is started.

In step ET19, if the flag ?MDSWOF is set to "1", that is, only when boththe mode switch EXPSW and the drive switch DRIVSW are set to OFF in thepreceding setting processing, the processing is shifted to steps ET20through ET26, and the setting is executed. Therefore, any change of thesetting should be accepted after the switch is once set to OFF. If thesetting is performed when the either switch is set to ON in thepreceding setting, the setting is continuously changed when the buttonis kept depressed continuously, which causes the operability of thecamera to be worsened.

If it is judged in step ET20 that the mode switch EXPSW is set to ON,the increment and limit processing of the counter EXPMODE, and theexposure system display processing are performed in steps ET21 throughET23. If the mode switch EXPSW is set to OFF, thus indicating that thedrive switch DRIVSW is set to ON, in steps ET24 through ET26, theincrement and limit processing of the counter DRIVE MODE, and theshooting system display processing are performed. In either case, aftersetting the flag MDSWOF to "0" in step ET7 to indicate that the modeswitch EXPSW and the drive switch DRIVSW are set to ON, the processingis returned to the point where the subroutine was called in the MAINprocessing. In this case, the limit processing is such a processing thatthe counter EXPMODE is set to "0_(H) " and the counter DRIVEMODE is setto "0000_(B) " when the counter EXPMODE is further incremented from"2_(H) " or the counter DRIVEMODE is further incremented from "0011_(B)".

If it is judged in step ET10 and step ET11 that the mode switch EXPSWand the drive switch DRIVSW are set to OFF and ON, respectively, thecondition of the select switch SLSW is judged in step ET27. In case thatthe select switch SLSW is in ON state, the processing is shifted to stepET18. In case that the select switch SLSW is in OFF state, it is judgedwhether or not the three-second timer which has been started in stepsET6, ET14, or ET18 is timed up. The processing proceeds to step ET19unless and until the time up of the three-second timer is judged. If thethree-second timer is timed up, the shooting system is set to the forcedrewind.

[VARIABLE SETTING SUBROUTINE]

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of the VARIABLE SETTING subroutine which isdiverged from step ET1 of the EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM SETTINGsubroutine. This subroutine is executed only when the select switch SLSWwas in an ON state in the preceding exposure/shooting system settingprocessing. In this VARIABLE SETTING subroutine, three variables areset, such as the number of the Frames for the SELF-TIMER shooting, theinterval starting time, and the interval time.

Each variable, its corresponding data stored in the memory, andindication to be displayed in the LCD panel 19 are shown in the tables 1and 2 below:

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        Number of frames Variable                                                     for Self-Timer   data     Indication                                          ______________________________________                                        1                0H       1 EX                                                2                1H       2 EX                                                3                2H       3 EX                                                4                3H       4 EX                                                5                4H       5 EX                                                ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 2                                                         ______________________________________                                        Interval starting time                                                                          Variable                                                    Interval time     data     Indication                                         ______________________________________                                        10 seconds        0H       10 s                                               20 seconds        1H       20 s                                               30 seconds        2H       30 s                                               40 seconds        3H       40 s                                               50 seconds        4H       50 s                                               1 minute          5H       1 m                                                2 minutes         6H       2 m                                                3 minutes         7H       3 m                                                4 minutes         8H       4 m                                                  .               .        .                                                    .               .        .                                                    .               .        .                                                   9 hours          1CH       9 h                                               10 hours          1DH      10 h                                               12 hours          1EH      12 h                                               24 hours          1FH      24 h                                               ______________________________________                                    

Step PS1 in FIG. 34 illustrated a VARIABLE SELECTION subroutine forselecting the variables which is illustrated in FIG. 35. The VARIABLESELECTION subroutine is a processing for selecting one of the memorydata to be changed among three sets of memory data for the number offrames for SELF-TIMER shooting, the INTERVAL starting time, and theINTERVAL time. Selection of respective data corresponds to the value ofthe variable SELEMODE. SELEMODE=0 corresponds to no variable, SELEMODE=1corresponds to number of frames for self-timer shooting, SELEMODE=2corresponds to the interval starting time, and SELEMODE=3 corresponds tothe interval time.

If the shooting system is set to the self-timer shooting, the SELEMODEis set to "1" in the VARIABLE SELECTION subroutine, time return value"Variable Present" is set, and the processing is returned to the pointwhere the subroutine was called in the VARIABLE SETTING subroutine. Iftime shooting system is set to the interval shooting, the SELEMODE ischanged to "3" if currently set to "2". Otherwise the SELEMODE is set to"2", the return value "Variable Present" is set, and the processing isreturned to the point where it was called. In case the shooting systemis neither the self-timer shooting nor the interval shooting, theSELEMODE is set to "0" as there is no need to set the variable, and thereturn value "Variable Absent" is set. Then the processing is returnedto the VARIABLE SETTING subroutine.

In the VARIABLE SETTING subroutine, If the return value of the variableselecting processing is "Variable Present", the data displayed in theLCD panel 19 is stored in steps PS2 and PS3, and all the indications areturned OFF once. Then the VARIABLE DISPLAY subroutine in FIG. 36 iscarried out.

The VARIABLE DISPLAY subroutine is a routine for displaying the selectedvariable data with reference to the variable SELEMODE which has been setin the VARIABLE SELECTION subroutine. As the VARIABLE DISPLAY subroutinestarts, the display of the exposure/shooting system is once turned OFF,number of frames for the self-timer shooting is displayed ifSELEMODE:=1, and the self-timer indication mark is illuminated to urge aphotographer to set the number of frames.

If SELEMODE=2, the interval starting time is displayed, and the INT markwhich indicates the interval mode, the mark "S" indicating the startingtime and " 38 are illuminated. In this camera, it is possible to set theinterval start time by a relative time. In the conventional cameras, ithas been so composed that the interval shooting start time can be set byan absolute time. Therefore, a time table which is different from thetable used in setting of the interval time would be needed, and further,the conventional cameras must have a clock function. A camera accordingto the present invention can utilize the same time table both for theinterval start time setting and the interval time setting. Consequently,the camera embodying the present invention does not need any clockfunction.

In case of SELEMODE=3, the interval time is displayed, and the marks"INT" and " 38 showing the interval time are illuminated.

As the VARIABLE DISPLAY subroutine is completed, the selected variabledata is incremented in steps PS5 through PS12 when the zoom tele switchTELE is ON if the zoom tele switch TELE is set of off and the zoom wideswitch WIDE is set to ON in the preceding setting processing, and thevariable data is decremeted when the zoom wide switch WIDE is set to ON.If both the zoom tele switch TELE and the zoom wide switch WIDE are setto OFF, the flag ?MDSMOF is set to "1". Contrarily, if either switch isturned ON, the VARIABLE DISPLAY subroutine is executed after setting instep PS7 or PS12, and the flag ?MDSMOF is set to "0".

The processing in steps PS14 through PS18 is executed regardless of thepresence or absence of the variable data.

If the flag ?MDZMOF is set to "0", that is, in case either of the zoomtele switch TELE or the zoom wide switch WIDE is set to ON in thepreceding setting, or in case that the variable data are changed, it isjudged in step PS14 that the varlablc data is being set withoutrestoring the display. Thus, the processing is returned to the pointwhere the subroutine was called in the MAIN processing. In case theselect switch SLSW is set to ON even though the flag ?MDSMOF is "1" asdetermined at step PS14, the processing is returned to the MAINprocessing as well.

As the flag ?MDZMOF is "1" when the processing reaches step PS14 withthe variable data being absent (i.e., ?SELEMODE=0), the flag ?SELECT isset to "0" if the select switch SLSW is OFF, and the processing isreturned to the MAIN processing. In case both the zoom tele switch TELEthe zoom wide switch WIDE are judged to be OFF and variable data exists,the flag ?SELECT is set to "0" when the select switch SLSW is OFF, andthe data stored in the memory is displayed in the LCD panel 19 at stepPS18. Then, the processing is returned to the MAIN processing.

The processing in steps PS14 through PS18 is executed regardless ofpresence or absence of the variable data.

If the flag ?MDZMOF is set to "0", that is, in case either of the zoomtele switch TELE or the zoom wide switch WIDE is set to ON in thepreceding setting, or in case the variable data are changed, and it isjudged in step PS14 that the variable data is being set withoutrestoring the display. The processing is returned to the point where thesubroutine was called in the MAIN processing. In case the select switchSLSW is set to ON even though the flag ?MDSMOF is "1" as determined atstep PS14A, the processing is returned to the MAIN processing as well.

As the flag ?MDZMOF is "1" when the processing reaches step PS14 withthe variable data being absent (i.e., SELMODE=0), the flag ?SELECT isset to "0" if the select switch SLSW is OFF, and the processing isreturned to the MAIN processing. In case both the zoom tele switch TELEthe zoom wide switch WIDE are judged to be OFF, and even variable dataexists, the flag ?SELECT is set to "0" when the select switch SLSW isOFF, and the data stored in the memory is displayed in the LCD panel 19at step PS18. Then, the processing is returned to the MAIN processing.

The VARIABLE SETTING subroutine is described in detail with an example.

If each of the zoom tele switch TELE, the zoom wide switch WIDE and thephotometric switch SWS is in OFF state, the exposure system is changedone after another when the mode switch EXPSW is set from OFF to ON. Inorder to change the exposure system, it is necessary to set the modeswitch EXPSW to ON after it was set to OFF once. The exposure system ischanged one after another among three modes of AUTO, Strobe ON, andStrobe OUT, when the mode switch EXPSW is repeatedly changed ON/OFF.

If the drive switch DRIVSW is changed from OFF to ON, the shootingsystem is changed one by one. The shooting system is changed among fourmodes, i.e., FRAME-BY-FRAME, SELF-TIMER, SELF-TW, and INTERVAL modes.

In the case shooting system is changed from FRAME-BY-FRAME shooting tothe SELF-TIMER, the VARIABLE SETTING subroutine is called when theselect switch SLSW is set to ON after the drive switch DRIVSW is set toOFF, and the processing stays in the setting processing of the number offrames of the SELF-TIMER. By operating the zoom tele switch TELE or thezoom wide switch WIDE with the select switch SLSW being in ON state, thenumber of frames for the SELF-TIMER can be changed. If this change ismade when the zoom tele switch TELE and the zoom wide switch WIDE areset from OFF to ON, the data is changed by one step even though thebutton is kept on being depressed. If the select switch SLSW is set fromON to OFF, the setting processing is canceled.

When the shooting system is changed from the SELF-TW to the INTERVALmode, the setting processing of the interval starting time starts whenthe select switch SLSW is set to ON after the drive switch DRIVSW is setto OFF. It is possible to set the interval starting time when the zoomtele switch TELE and the zoom wide switch WIDE are set to ON while theselect switch SLSW is in an ON state. If the select switch SLSW is setto OFF, the setting processing is canceled. However, If the selectswitch SLSW is set to ON again, the setting mode of the interval time iseffected. Then, it is possible to set the interval time by setting thezoom tele switch TELE and the zoom wide switch WIDE while the selectswitch SLSW is in ON state. When the select switch SLSW is set to OFF,the setting processing is terminated. In this case, it is possible torepeatedly set the interval starting time and the interval time.

The SELF-TIMER shooting or the INTERVAL shooting is executed based onthe set data when the release switch SWR is set to ON after the abovesetting is completed.

Referring back to the EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM setting processing, thethree-second timer is checked in step ET28 (FIG. 33-B) only if the driveswitch DRIVSW is kept in an ON state. If it is judged that the time isup, the shooting system is set to the FORCED REWIND mode in step ET29.If the photometric switch SWS is set to ON in the FORCED REWIND modewhile the drive switch DRIVSW is in ON state, the film rewind isexecuted.

[AEAF CONTROL ROUTINE]

With referring to FIGS. 37-A through 37-C, and FIGS. 38-A through 38-C,the AEAF CONTROL routine of the shutter-related control system isdescribed below. If the shooting system is set to FRAME-BY-FRAMEshooting, this routine is executed when the photometric switch ischanged from OFF to ON in the main processing. When a second or latershot is taken, after the film winding is executed when the shootingsystem is set to the SELF-TIMER mode or SELF-TW mode, or after theINTERVAL CONTROL subroutine is completed when the shooting system is setto the INTERVAL mode, the AEAF CONTROL routine is executed from theterminal of "AEAF CONTROL 3".

In steps EF1 through EF3, the range finding data is input, and the lenslatch operation (LL) is executed, and the Green lamp illumination isdetermined. If an object distance is within a focusible range of thecamera, the green lamp is continuously illuminated. If not, the greenlamp blinks to warn the photographer that the object distance is out ofthe focusible range. The LL operation is an operation for determiningthe amount of the lens to be moved in order to focus the object based onthe input range finding data.

In case the AEAF CONTROL routine is executed from the terminal of theAEAF control 3, that is, in case the shooting system is set to theINTERVAL, the SELF-TIMER, or the SELF-TW mode, and the shot is thesecond one or thereafter, the range finding and the LL processings arenot carried out. Therefore, in such a case, the preceding LL data isused as it is, thereby leaving the focal point the same as it was forthe first shot. It is because of preventing slip of the focal point whenthe object to be photographed moves from the range finding area of thecentral portion of the frame.

In step EF4, the DX code representing the ISO sensitivity of a film isinput, and the input DX code data is converted to an Sv value which isused for the exposure operation according to Table 3. Further in stepEF4, step EF4, in corresponding to the Sv value (DX code data), ashutter speed (exposure) compensation value ΔEvsmin of a minimum shutterspeed (exposure) value Evsmin, and a compensation threshold exposurevalue ΔEvsfl of the threshold exposure value of the strobe flashingEvsfl are set for the AUTO mode of the exposure system.

                  TABLE 3                                                         ______________________________________                                        DX 2 3 4 ISO       Sv     Δ Evsmin                                                                           Δ Evsfl                            ______________________________________                                        1 1 1     25       3.0    0.00       0.0                                      1 1 0     50       4.0    0.00       0.0                                      1 0 1    100       5.0    0.00       0.0                                      1 0 0    200       6.0    0.25       0.5                                      0 1 1    400       7.0    0.50       1..0                                     0 1 0    800       8.0    0.50       1.0                                      0 0 1    1600      9.0    0.50       1.0                                      0 0 0    3200      10.0   0.50       1.0                                      ______________________________________                                    

In the conventional electronically controlled camera, the thresholdexposure vale of automatic strobe flashing is kept constant regardlessof the sensitivity of a film to be used. Accordingly, when a highlysensitive film is used, the threshold brightness value for an automaticstrobe flashing and the lower limit of the AE interlocking range are setto relatively lower values with respect to a standard value.

In the camera embodying the present invention, if a highly sensitivefilm is used, not only the threshold brightness value of automaticstrobe flashing is lowered, but also lowered picture quality due to bluris prevented. If the film sensitivity is high, the threshold exposurevalue of the strobe flashing Evsfl is increased to cause the thresholdbrightness value of automatic strobe flashing Evsfl to be suppressed tohalf the level employed in the conventional cameras, and the minimumshatter speed (exposure) value Evsmin is increased. Thereby the minimumshutter speed is raised. ΔEvsmin and ΔEvsfl are the compensation valuesof the minimum shutter speed value Evsmin and of the threshold exposurevalue Evsfl, respectively, with respect to the film sensitivity ISO 100which is used as the standard in this embodiment.

Table 4 and Table 5 show the threshold brightness value of the flashingand an AE interlocking range of the camera according to the presentinvention. Table 4 shows the values at the wide side, and Table 5 showsthe values at the tele side. (Where, the brightness value Lv=the objectbrightness value Bv+5).

                  TABLE 4                                                         ______________________________________                                        Wide          ISO 100     ISO 200  ISO 400                                    ______________________________________                                        Threshold brightness                                                                        9.00        8.50     8.00                                       value (Lv)                                                                    Threshold exposure                                                                          9.00        9.50     10.00                                      value (Evsfl)                                                                 Lower limit of                                                                              9.00        8.25     7.50                                       AE interlocking                                                               range (Lv)                                                                    Minimum shutter speed                                                                       9.00        9.25     9.50                                       value (Evsmin)                                                                Shutter speed (sec.)                                                                        1/45        1/54     1/64                                       ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 5                                                         ______________________________________                                        Tele          ISO 100     ISO 200  ISO 400                                    ______________________________________                                        Threshold brightness                                                                        10.75       10.25     9.75                                      value (Lv)                                                                    Threshold exposure                                                                           9.50       10.00    10.50                                      value (Evsfl)                                                                 Lower limit of                                                                              10.75       10.00     9.75                                      AE interlocking                                                               range (Lv)                                                                    Minimum shutter speed                                                                        9.50        9.75    10.00                                      value (Evsmin)                                                                Shutter speed (sec.)                                                                        1/64        1/76     1/90                                       ______________________________________                                    

As the minimum shutter speed Evsmin changes according to the sensitivityof a film if the above setting is employed, it is possible toeffectively prevent influences causing blur for when a high sensitivefilm. It should be noted that the shutter speed is calculated from theexposure value Evs and the aperture value Avs with an aperture value Avof 3.5.

In case that the camera is controlled referring to the above table, thestrobe flashing range may be partially overlapped by the AE interlockingrange in the area where Evsmin<Evsfl. In this case, by executing the FMcontrol operation with setting the aperture value Avs to the value lowerthan that obtained in the FM operation by approximately 1 Ev, apreferable photograph can be obtained without it being excessivelyover-exposed.

In step EF5 of the AEAF control process (FIG. 37A), a compensationamount e of open aperture value (f-number) is determined, and in stepEF6, the threshold exposure value of the strobe flashing Evsfl and theminimum shutter speed value Evsmin for the AUTO mode of the exposuresystem, and a strobe guide number change amount ΔGNo with respect to thewide extremity are obtained based on the focal length code DIV byreferring to the value-relationship shown in Table 6.

                  TABLE 6                                                         ______________________________________                                        DIV          α  Evsmin, EVSfl                                                                             Δ GNo.                                ______________________________________                                         1 Wide extremity                                                                          0 0/8    9 0/8       0/8                                          2           0 1/8    9 0/8       0/8                                          3           0 1/8    9 0/8       0/8                                          4           0 2/8    9 0/8       1/8                                          5           0 2/8    9 0/8       1/8                                          6           0 3/8    9 0/8       1/8                                          7           0 3/8    9 0/8       1/8                                          8           0 4/8    9 0/8       1/8                                          9           0 4/8    9 0/8       2/8                                         A            0 5/8    9 0/8       2/8                                         B            0 5/8    9 0/8       2/8                                         C            0 6/8    9 0/8       2/8                                         D            0 6/8    9 0/8       2/8                                         E            0 7/8    9 1/8       3/8                                         F            0 7/8    9 1/8       3/8                                         10           1 0/8    9 2/8       3/8                                         11           1 0/8    9 2/8       3/8                                         12           1 1/8    9 3/8       3/8                                         13           1 1/8    9 3/8       4/8                                         14           1 2/8    9 4/8       4/8                                         15 Tele extremity                                                                          1 2/8    9 4/8       4/8                                         ______________________________________                                    

The AEFM (automatic exposure and flashmatic) CALCULATION subroutineshown in FIG. 39 is called in step EF7, base on the above data and thephotomerry data input from the sub CPU in step EF6, and the AE data andFM data is set.

In case the calculated FM data means a strobe flashing mode, it isjudged in steps EF8 through EF13 whether or not the charging voltage ofa strobe capacitor reaches the flashable level of the strobe. If thecharging voltage reaches the flashable level thereof, the red lamp isilluminated, and the condition that strobe flashing is prepared isdisplayed. If the strobe flashing is not prepared, the processing entersa strobe charging stand-by processing in steps EF14 through EF18.

it should be noted that If the flag ?AUTORET is set to "1" (determinedat step EF10) and the shooting system is set to the INTERVAL mode, thevoltage of the strobe capacitor is not checked in step EF13. It isbecause in the INTERVAL mode, the charging control is executed on everyshot as shown in the INTERVAL CONTROL routine in FIG. 42. If the flag?AUTORET is set to "1", the red lamp indicator is not illuminated orblinked (at step EF12) because it is regarded that a photographer isapart from the camera. The flag ?AUTORET is set to "1" when the secondor the later shot is made in each of the shooting systems of INTERVALmode, SELF-TIMER mode, or SELF-TW mode. It is mainly used for automaticrelease with skipping the status judgment of a photometric switch and arelease switch to enter the release sequence.

If it is judged in step EF8 that the strobe is not to be flashed, theprocessing in steps EF9 through EF13 is skipped as the strobe chargingis unnecessary, and the processing following step EF21 is started.

In case that the flag ?AUTORET is "1", that is, if the shooting systemis set to the SELF-TIMER, SELF-TW or INTERVAL mode, and the succeedingshot is a second or later shot in the mode, in steps EF14 through 18 ofthe charging stand-by processing, a DISCONTINUANCE subroutine is called(in step EF18). In all the other cases, charging control is repeateduntil the charging is completed, repeating the photometric switchjudgment. When the charging is completed (as judged at step EF17), theprocessing goes back to step EF8. If the return value from theDISCONTINUANCE subroutine during the charging is YES, or when thephotometric switch SWS is turned OFF, the green lamp and the red lampare turned OFF in step EF19, and the charging is stopped in step EF20.Then, the control is returned to the top of the MAIN processing.

In steps EF21 through EF23, each data of a set LL, AE and FM is outputto the sub CPU.

Further, If the second or later shot in either of the shooting system ofINTERVAL, SELF-TIMER, or SELF-TW mode is made, the judgments of thephotomerry switch SWS and the release switch SWR are skipped, and theprocessing is Jumped to step EF43 (FIG. 38-B). In steps EF25 and EF26,if the release switch SWR is set to ON while the photometric switch SWSis kept on being set to ON, the processing is shifted to step EF28 (FIG.38-A). If the photometric switch SWS is set to OFF before the releaseswitch SWR is set to ON, the red lamp and the green lamp are turned OFFin step EF27, and the processing shifted to the top of the mainprocessing.

The steps EF28 through EF54 in FIG. 38 show the processing for waitingfor the release switch SWR to be set to OFF when the shooting system isset to a mode other than the FRAME-BY-FRAME mode. If the shooting systemis set to the FRAME-BY-FRAME mode, step EF55 (FIG. 38-C) directlyfollows step EF36.

As aforementioned, since the second or later shot is made while, theprocessing is enters the AEAF routine from step EF43, steps EF29 throughEF35 are executed when the first shot is made in the INTERVAL mode, andsteps EF37 through EF42 are executed when the first shot is made in theSELF-TIMER or SELF-TW mode.

If the shooting system is set to the INTERVAL mode, in steps EF29through EF32, the interval starting time is set in the INT timer, theflag ?AUTOREL is set to "1", the interval mark is caused to blink forindicating the operated condition. Further, the indication of theremaining interval time is permitted by setting ?INTDDIS to "0.

In step EF33, the maximum number of frames for the INTERVAL shooting isset in the exposure counter EXPC to 40 frames. Generally, the maximumnumber of frames is considered to be 36. In this embodiment, the maximumnumber of frames is set to 40 taking extra frames into account, andafter the set number of shootings are completed, the INTERVAL shootingis ended. Thereby, the waste of the battery is prevented.

When the interval starting time is set to 10 seconds, the waiting of thestarting time is executed in a below-described processing. In case thatthe starting time is more than 10 seconds, the processing is shiftedfrom step EF34 to step EF35. Then, the green lamp and the red lamp areturned OFF, and the processing diverges to the INTERVAL CONTROL routinein FIG. 42.

In case that the shooting system is set to SELF-TIMER or SELF-TW asdetermined at step EF36, in steps EF37 through EF39, the time of 10seconds is set in the INT timer, the flag ?AUTOREL is set to "1", andthe self timer is caused to blink for indicating the operated condition.Consecutively, if the shooting system is set to the SELF-TIMER mode(step EF40), a predetermined number of frames for the SELF-TIMER is setin the exposure counter EXPC (in step EF42). If the shooting system isset to the SELF-TW mode (as determined in step EF40), two frames are setin the EXPC in step EF41.

it should be noted that in case of an INTERVAL mode, when the intervaltime is less than 10 seconds, the necessity of changing the photomerrydata is low. However, If the interval time is 10 seconds or more, thebrightness of an object can be changed, and it is more preferable toexecute the photometry processing again. Therefore, the processing isonce shifted to the INTERVAL CONTROL routine, and then the AEAF CONTROLroutine is executed.

In steps EF43 through EF46 and step EF70, time up of the INT timer iswaited, with repeating the judgment of DISCONTINUE and, the self timerlamp being illuminated or blinked. If the remaining time of the INTtimer becomes less than three seconds as determined at step EF45, theself-timer lamp is caused to blink at step EF46 for indicating the shotis made. If the return value of the DISCONTINUE subroutine becomes YES,the red lamp and the green lamp are turned OFF in step EF47, and thecontrol is returned to the top of the MAIN processing.

In steps EF48 through EF54, the INT timer is reset according to theselected mode of the shooting system. In the case of the SELF-TIMERmode, if the number of frames for the SELF-TIMER is set to three ormore, the INT timer is set to two seconds, while if the number of framesis set to one or two, the INT timer is set to five seconds. As thenumber of frames for SELF-TW is fixed at two frames, the INT timer isset to five seconds. In the case of the INTERVAL mode, in order to avoida figure other than "0" being indicated when the INT timer is timed up,the display of the remaining time is prohibited and "0" is forcedlydisplayed. Then, the interval time is set in the INT timer.

Thus the interval between the shots is changed according to the numberof frames for the SELF-TIMER. It is considered that there are twopurposes of multiplex shooting in the SELF-TIMER mode: first, to obtaina plurality of photographs of the same scene; second, to obtain aphotograph of different scenes. In this embodiment, it is so constructedthat the interval time for respective purposes is different.

Namely, if the shooting is intended to obtain a plurality of photographsof the same scene it is preferable to set the interval between the shotsa short value. On the other hand, if the shooting is intended to obtainphotographs of the different compositions, the interval is preferably toa longer amount for the sake of changing the scene, arrangement, etc.

Therefore, if it is judged for which purpose the shooting is executed,it is possible to automatically change the interval time for succeedingshots. Generally, the number of frames taken at a time is relativelymany if the purpose is extra printing, and the number of frames isrelatively fewer if the purpose is changing the scene. In thisembodiment, when the number of frames for the SELF-TIMER shooting ismore than three, it is judged that the purpose is obtaining a pluralityof the same photographs, and the interval is set to two seconds, andwhen the number of frames for the SELF-TIMER is two, it is judged thatthe purpose is changing the scene and the interval is set to fiveseconds.

The release sequence in steps EF55 through EF62 is executed, after therelease switch SWR is set to ON when the shooting system is set to theFRAME-BY-FRAME, or after the INT timer is timed up when the shootingsystems is set to the mode other than the FRAME-BY-FRAME mode. In thissequence, after the red lamp, the green lamp, and the self-timer lampare turned OFF (steps EF55 and EF56), the shutter movement start signalis output to the sub CPU and it is confirmed that the shutter movementend signal is inputted from the sub CPU.

In case that the shooting system is set to the FRAME-BY-FRAME mode, theprocessing goes to the WIND routine. In other cases, the exposurecounter EXPC is decremented and the processing goes to the WIND routine.Note that, If the counter EXPC equals "0", the processing goes to theWIND routine after the AUTOMATIC RELEASE CANCEL subroutine is called.

[AEFM CALCULATION SUBROUTINE]

FIG. 39 shows an AEFM subroutine which is called in step EF7 of the AEAFCONTROL routine.

In this processing, the exposure data which is outputted to the sub CPUis set, it is determined whether the strobe is actuated or not, and theaperture value Avs when the strobe flashes is calculated.

In step AM1, the flag ?BVMIN is cleared, and the FM data is set to thevalue larger than 8.0 or smaller than 3.5 which indicates that thestrobe need not be flashed.

In steps AM2 through AM4, a photomerry data (brightness value) islimited between the lower and upper limits. That is, the flag ?BVMIN isset to "1" when the photomerry data (brightness value) Bv is less thanor equal to the lower limit value of 1.0, thereby causing the photometryvalue to be rounded as 1, and the upper limit value is limited to 12.0.

In step AM5, the exposure value Evs is calculated from the compensationvalue α (of open f-number with respect to the wide extremity), the filmsensitivity value Sv, and the photomerry data (brightness value) By.

If it is determined respectively in steps AM6 through AM8 that theexposure system is set to the STROBE ON, that the exposure system is setto the AUTO and the photometry data is equal to or less than the lowerlimit thereof, or that the exposure value Evs is less than the thresholdexposure value of the strobe flashing Evsfl, FM calculation in steps AM9through AM13 is executed. In all the other cases, the processing goes tostep AM14 with the strobe in a non flashing condition. Note that, thethreshold exposure value Evsfl at step AM8 is the value compensated withthe aforementioned compensation value ΔEvsfl being added.

The AF step defined on the basis of the range finding data is convertedinto the aperture value Avs corresponding to the reference guide numberin step AM9. And in step AM10, the aperture value is calculated suchthat the change amount ΔGNo. of the guide number corresponding to thezooming of strobe itself and the deviation (Sv-5) of the filmsensitivity value with respect to the film sensitivity value of ISO 100are added to Avs, and the compensation value Δ of open f-numbercorresponding to the changes of the focal length of the lens withrespect to the wide extremity is subtracted therefrom.

In steps AM11 through AM13, the aperture value Avs is limited betweenthe lower limit of 3.5 and the upper limit of 8.0, and the aperture Avsis set as the FM data.

The exposure value Evs is limited between the upper limit and the lowerlimit in steps AM14 and AM15, and the processing is returned to the AEAFCONTROL routine with these values being AE data. The minimum shutterspeed value Evsmin in step AM15 is a compensated value obtained byadding the aforementioned compensation value ΔEvsmin.

[DISCONTINUANCE SUBROUTINE AND AUTOMATIC RELEASE CANCEL SUBROUTINE]

FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing the DISCONTINUANCE subroutine. Thissubroutine is a subroutine for interrupting automatic shooting of theSELF-TIMER, the SELF-TW and the INTERVAL shooting, and is called in aloop processing. In automatic shooting, the shooting operation can beautomatically executed without any command by a photographer after theprocessing enters the respective sequences. Therefore. If the shootingis interrupted during the sequence of operation is executed, theprocessing for interrupting the sequence is needed.

In case that the loading is not completed in step DC1 through DC4 and?LDEND=0 as determined at step DC1, the return value is set to YES wheneither one of the back cover switch BACK or the power switch PSW is setto ON (as determined at steps DC3 and DC4), while the return value isset to NO when both the back cover switch BACK and the power switch PSWare set to OFF. In case the loading is completed (?LDEND=1), the returnvalue is set to YES when the power switch PSW is set to ON whether theback cover switch BACK is set to ON or OFF, while the return value isset to NO when the back cover switch BACK is ON and the power switch PSWis OFF.

In case the return value is set to YES in the DISCONTINUANCE subroutineor the AUTO RELEASE CANCEL subroutine, in steps DC5 through DC10, theautomatic release condition is canceled (step DC5), and the SELF-TIMERlamp is turned off (step DC5). Further, the SELF-TIMER mark displayed Inthe LCD panel 19 is changed from blinking state indicating "duringoperation" condition to continuously illuminated state showing thestand-by condition when the shooting system is set to the SELF-TIMER orthe SELF-TW mode. When the shooting system is set to the INTERVAL mode,the interval indication mark is changed from blinking state tocontinuously illuminated state, and the display is changed from timeindication to the focal length indication.

[WIND ROUTINE]

FIG. 41 shows the WIND routine which is diverged from the AEAF CONTROLroutine after a shooting is executed. This routine is executed forwinding the film by one frame after photographing is executed.

In step WD1, it is judged whether or not the film is loaded in thecamera, referring to the status of the flag ?FLEXZ. If a film has beenloaded and ?FLEXEL=1, the wind pulse counter WPC is set to "4" and theaforesaid WIND PULSE COUNTING subroutine is called in step WD3. If theWIND PULSE COUNTING subroutine is successfully completed, the filmcounter is incremented (in step WD4), and the frame number is displayed(in step WD5) in the LCD panel 19. If the return value of the WIND PULSECOUNTING subroutine is "DISCONTINUED", the processing returns to the topof the MAIN processing if the back cover is open (thus making the backcover switch off) in step WD6. If the back cover is closed, theAUTOMATIC RELEASE CANCEL subroutine, which is shown in FIG. 40, iscalled in step WD7 and, the processing diverges to the REWIND routine.

In case steps WD2 through WD5 are skipped as the film does not exist, orin case that the WIND PULSE COUNTING subroutine has been successfullycompleted, the processing returns to the MAIN processing when theshooting (i.e. when ?AUTOREL=0) system is set to the FRAME-BY-FRAMEshooting, The processing diverged to the AEAF CONTROL routine when theshooting system is set to the SELF-TIMER shooting, or the processingdiverges to the AEAF CONTROL routine after moving the lens to the wideextremity by calling the WIDE MOVEMENT 2 subroutine when the shootingsystem is set to the SELF-TW shooting. If the shooting system is set tothe INTERVAL shooting, the processing diverges to an INTERVAL CONTROLroutine which is described later.

[INTERVAL CONTROL ROUTINE]

FIG. 42 shows a flowchart illustrating the INTERVAL control routinewhich is diverged from the WIND routine. In this routine, a stand-byprocessing is executed, measuring the set interval time for the secondor the later shot when the shooting system is set to the INTERVAL mode.If the shooting system is set to mode other than the INTERVAL mode, theprocessing loops in the MAIN processing. However, in the case of theINTERVAL shooting, the processing loops between the AEAF CONTROL routineand the INTERVAL CONTROL routine, not through the MAIN processing.

As this processing is started, "five seconds" is set in the INT timer ifthe remaining interval time, i.e., a period of time to the succeedingshot is less than five seconds when the shooting system is set to theSTROBE OFF mode. "Eleven seconds" is set in the INT timer if theremaining interval time is less than eleven seconds when the shootingsystem is set to the mode (see steps IN1-IN5) other than the STROBE ONmode. This is the minimum waiting time required in the camera system,and the processing is for resetting the time in the INT timer, Ifnecessary, before entering the loop described later. It should be notedthat since there is a possibility for the strobe to be flashed if theshooting system is set to a mode other than the STROBE OFF mode, theextra time for charging the strobe capacitor is included.

In step IN6, the display of the remaining time of the INTERVAL time inthe INTERRUPT subroutine (of FIG. 21) is permitted, and DISCONTINUANCEsubroutine is repeatedly called in the loop of step IN7 through IN10until the remaining interval time becomes less than five seconds or 11seconds. In accordance with the selected mode of the shooting systems.If the return value of the DISCONTINUANCE subroutine is YES, that is,when it is judged that the processing should be discontinued, theprocessing diverges from the loop to the top of the MAIN processing.

The loop of steps IN11 through IN17 is the processing for repeatedlycalling the DISCONTINUANCE subroutine until the remaining interval timebecomes less than three seconds. In this loop, If the exposure system isset to a mode other than the STROBE OFF mode, the charging control ofthe strobe is repeatedly executed. If the remaining interval timebecomes less than five seconds, the strobe charging is prohibited.Therefore, when the exposure system is set to a mode other than theSTROBE OFF mode, the charging control is executed for six seconds.

The strobe charging control in step IN14 is a processing for startingthe charging unless the charging voltage of the strobe capacitor reachesa predetermined level. If the charging voltage reaches the predeterminedlevel, any further processing is not carried out.

If the remaining interval time becomes less than three seconds asdetermined at step IN17, the processing diverges to the AEAF CONTROLroutine at the terminal of "AEAF CONTROL 3". However, if the returnvalue of the DISCONTINUANCE subroutine is YES, the processing mayalready be shifted to the top of the MAIN processing.

[REWIND ROUTINE]

FIG. 43 is a flowchart illustrating the REWIND routine which is divergedfrom the WIND routine or from step MA30 of the MAIN processing. Thisroutine is executed when the film is wound to the end or the Forcedrewind is commanded by a predetermined operation, which is theprocessing for returning a film into a film cartridge.

In steps RW1 through RW3, the lens is retracted to its accommodationposition, the WIND motor is reversely rotated, and the wind pulsecounter WPC is set to "4" which corresponds to the amount of one framefeeding of the film.

In step RW4, a flag ?2START which indicates the start of the two-secondtimer is cleared, and the processing enters a loop of steps RW6 throughRW20 after starting the 3.5-second timer in step RW5.

In this loop, inputting of the conditions of the back cover switch BACKand the wind pulse WP is repeatedly executed. Further, the film counteris decremented and the film number is displayed at every four detectionsof the rise-up of the wind pulse WP. If no change is detected in thewind pulse within a predetermined period of time (RW11), or If the backcover is opened (RW10), the processing goes out of the loop. Althoughthe above-said predetermined time (control time) is set to two seconds,the wind motor is rotated for 3.5 seconds since the wind motor wasstarted to be reversely rotated, regardless of the status of the backcover switch BACK or the wind pulse WP. It is because the motor isrotated for a longer period of time since the wind pulse WP may not beissued due to a loosening of the film at the beginning of the reverserotation of the wind motor.

Step RW9 follows step RW6 until the 3.5-second timer is timed up, andthen switch data is input and used for judgment in steps RW10 and RW11.Assume that the back cover is closed. Then a loop of steps RW12, RW6 andsteps RW9 through RW12 is exeduted until a change is detected in thewind pulse WP in step RW11. Steps RW7 and RW8 are executed after the3.5-second timer is timed up. The two-second timer is started, the flag?2START is set to "1", and a loop from steps RW9 through RW13 isexecuted.

If a change occurs in the wind pulse, the processing goes from step RW11to step RW14, and it is discriminated whether the pulse is changed fromOFF to ON or from ON to OFF.

If it is detected that the wind pulse WP is changed from OFF to ON, thewind pulse counter WPC is decremented in step RW15 and it is judgedwhether or not the wind pulse counter WPC equals "0". If the wind pulsecounter WPC is judged to be equal to "0", it is determined that the filmis rewound. Then, In steps RW16 through RW18, the film counter isdecremented, the frame number is displayed, and the film counter isreset.

Step RW19 is executed as long as the change occurs in the WIND pulse inorder to lessen influences by erroneous input due to chattering, etc.,while inhibiting signals to be input in the range where signals are nottheoretically changed, as described in the processing of the WIND PULSECOUNTING routine.

Before the two-second timer starts (as determined at step RW20), theprocessing is returned from step RW20 to step RW6. After the timer hasbeen started, the processing is returned from step RW20 to step RW7,where the two-second timer is restarted.

If the back cover is opened in the loop above, and if 3.5-second timeris timed up, the wind motor brake is applied after the wind system isinitialized, in steps RW21 through RW23, and the processing goes to stepRW29.

If there is no change in the wind pulse WP until the two-second timer istimed up (steps RW12-RW14), it is judged that a film does not exist inthe camera or that a film is completely rewound, and the followingprocessing step RW24 starts.

In steps RW24 through RW28, after the wind motor brake is applied instep RW25, a flag ?REWEND representing the rewind completion is set to"1" if the film exists in the camera (i.e., if ?FLEXZ=1), then, the filmframe counter is reset to "0" in step RW27, and the frame number isdisplayed in step RW28. If a film does not exist in the camera, stepsRW26 through RW28 are skipped, and the processing goes to step RW29.

In steps RW29 through RW31, the drive system engaged with a spool axisis released by forwardly rotating the wind motor, which is once stopped,for 0.5 seconds, and making the spool axis free for the next loading.

As the REWIND routine is terminated, the processing diverges to the LOCKroutine.

As described above, the exposure and shooting systems are set in theEXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM SETTING subroutine, which is called in stepMA44 of the MAIN processing.

In FIGS. 33-A and 33-B, if the mode button is depressed, the processinggoes from steps ET1 through ET10, ET18 through ET20, and then theexposure system is set in steps ET21 through ET23.

If the drive button is depressed, the processing goes from steps ET1through ET11, ET27, ET18 through ET20, and then the shooting system isset in steps ET24 through ET26.

Next, if the select button is depressed, the flag SELECT is set to "1"in step ET17 of the EXPOSURE/SHOOTING SYSTEM SETTING subroutine, andwhen the subroutine is called after returning to the MAIN processing,the Variable Setting subroutine is called in step ETE1. In this VariableSetting subroutine, the interval starting period of time and theinterval time are set.

Shooting is executed when the release button is depressed. If therelease button is depressed halfway, the processing diverges to the AEAFCONTROL routine (FIGS. 37 and 38) called in step MA66 of the MAINprocessing. If the release button is then fully depressed, theprocessing is shifted from step EF28 to step EF29, and then the periodto the first shooting and the interval time is set to the selectedperiods, respectively. The flag ?AUTOREL is set to "1" representing thatthe processing is in the automatic release mode, and the exposurecounter is set to "40".

In step EF43, it is judged whether the set period has passed or not. Ifthe period of time has not passed, the lamp illuminates or blinksdepending on the remaining time. If time is up, the interval periodbetween the shootings is set (in step EF54).

Then the first shooting is executed in steps EF57 and EF58. The exposurecounter is decremented in step EF60, and the film is wound in the WINDroutine.

In the WIND routine shown in FIG. 41, after the Film is wound, theprocessing diverges to the INTERVAL CONTROL routine, in which the strobeis charged, if necessary, in accordance with the remaining time to thenext shooting. Then, the procession diverges to the AEAF Control 3routine, and the succeeding shooting is executed after a set intervalperiod is passed.

As above, according to the present invention, the starting time of theinterval shooting can be set with a relative time, or a period or time.Further, a timetable For setting the interval time between shooting canbe used for setting the starting time of the interval shooting.Accordingly, a clock function is not required in the camera, andfurther, the period of time can be set by selecting one of a pluralityof predetermined data stored in a timetable, thereby the time settingoperation becomes relatively easy.

The present disclosure relates to the subject matter contained inJapanese patent application No. HEI 2-32982 (filed on Feb. 14, 1990)which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

what is claimed is:
 1. A camera system including a control unit for acamera capable of being operated in an automatic release mode in which aplurality of shootings can be automatically executed, said control unitcomprising:means for arbitrarily and manually setting a first period oftime which defines the amount of time that elapses beginning with thestart of said automatic release mode and ending with the first shootingof said plurality of shootings; and means for arbitrarily and manuallysetting a second period of time, said second period of time defining thetime interval between said first shooting and a second shooting of saidplurality of shootings and each subsequent shooting, wherein said secondperiod of time can be set independently of the value of said firstperiod of time.
 2. The system camera system according to claim 1, whichfurther comprises storing means for storing a plurality of time data,and wherein said first period is set to a desired one of said pluralityof time data.
 3. The system camera system according to claim 2, whereinsaid second period is also set to a desired one of said plurality oftime data stored in said storing means.
 4. The camera system accordingto claim 1, which further comprises a strobe, and means fordiscriminating whether strobe flashing is necessary when the shootingsare executed, and wherein a shooting is executed after said strobe hasbeen charged, even through said first period of time has passed sincethe automatic release mode was started.
 5. The camera system accordingto claim 4, which further comprises means for examining the chargedcondition of said strobe during the operation of said camera in saidautomatic release mode, and wherein the strobe is charged only when itis determined that the strobe needs to be charged.
 6. The camera systemaccording to claim 1, which further comprises a time counting means formeasuring said first period before the first shooting is executed, andfor measuring said second period after said first shooting has beenexecuted.
 7. The camera system according to claim 1, further comprisingan electronically controlled camera.
 8. The camera system according toclaim 7, wherein said means for arbitrarily setting a first period andsaid means for arbitrarily setting a second period are integrallyprovided within said camera.
 9. The camera system according to claim 1,further including a manual switch for controlling said means forarbitrarily setting a first period and said means for arbitrarilysetting a second period.
 10. The camera system according to claim 1,further comprising means for coupling said means for arbitrarily settinga first period and said means for arbitrarily setting a second period toa shutter of a camera, said coupling means being positioned internallyof said camera.
 11. The camera system according to claim 1, wherein aplurality of shooting are automatically executed subsequent to the firstshooting.
 12. A camera system which is capable of being operated in anautomatic release mode in which a plurality of shootings can beautomatically executed, comprising:a release button for initiation ofthe automatic release mode; means for manually setting a time intervalbetween each of said plurality of shootings which are automaticallyexecuted, wherein said time interval defines the time between first andsecond shootings and any subsequent shootings of said plurality ofshootings; and means for manually setting a period of time between anoperation of said release button and the first of said automaticallyexecuted shootings.
 13. The camera system according to claim 12, whereinsaid means for manually setting a time interval and said means formanually setting a period of time control time intervals for at leastthree shootings in the automatic release mode.
 14. The camera systemaccording to claim 12, which further comprises a strobe, and means fordiscriminating whether strobe flashing is necessary when the shootingsare executed, and wherein a shooting is executed after said strobe hasbeen charged, even though said first period of time has passed since theautomatic release mode was started.
 15. The system according to claim14, which further comprises means for examining the charged condition ofsaid strobe during the operation of said camera in said automaticrelease mode, and wherein the strobe is charged only when it isdetermined that the strobe needs to be charged.
 16. A camera systemincluding a control unit for a camera capable of being operated in anautomatic release mode in which a plurality of shootings can beautomatically executed, said control unit comprising:means for manuallysetting a first period of time which defines the amount of time thatelapses beginning with the start of said automatic release mode andending with the first shooting of said plurality of shootings; and meansfor manually setting a second period of time, said second period of timedefining the time interval between each of a plurality of shootingssubsequent to said first shooting.
 17. A camera system according toclaim 16, wherein said second period of time can be set independently ofthe value of said first period of time.
 18. The camera system accordingto claim 16, which further comprises a strobe, and means fordiscriminating whether strobe flashing is necessary when the shootingsare executed, and wherein a shooting is executed after said strobe hasbeen charged, even though said first period of time has passed since theautomatic release mode was started.
 19. The system according to claim18, which further comprises means for examining the charged condition ofsaid strobe during the operation of said camera in said automaticrelease mode, and wherein the strobe is charged only when it isdetermined that the strobe needs to be charged.
 20. The system accordingto claim 16, said means for manually setting a second period of timecomprising means for enabling a plurality of shooting by a singleactuation of said means for manually setting a second period of time.